Misguided Ideas at Harvard

A controversy rages at Harvard about whether to re-instate an apparently long lost Religion Department. Missing the point completely, one side claims that since most of the students at Harvard are not "religious", it would be a waste of resources. THE POINT IS: how could one pretend to value a liberal arts education or any education for that matter which does not insist on or at least allow for an understanding of world religions. Whether we like it or not, all civilizations on this planet so far have been primarily driven by their religious beliefs. Politics, economics, philosophy -- not to be deciphered without reference to the underlying religious ground. No student of society with half a brain would deny this. The value of studying religion as a major impact on history does not have anything to do with the belief systems of the students.

I had an argument in college with my political science professor about this. She wanted me to change my major from religion to poli sci. I was interested in Islam and Sufism and thought I was learning more poli sci in my religion classes than in hers. She thought an understanding of religion unimportant. Well, she died before Al Qaeda and terrorism so I cannot say "I told you so".