The following statement of purpose is written by an applicant who got accepted to several top graduate programs in religious studies. Variations of this SOP got accepted at Yale, Virginia, and ASU. Read it to understand what a top essay in religious studies should look like.

Example Statement of Purpose in Religious Studies

As a Muslim state, every sector of our society in Saudi Arabia is influenced by Islam to a certain degree. Consequently, our Islamic education, albeit starting at home, becomes concrete during our academic life. Even at university, every student must take Islamic studies as a mandatory course. And in my experience, there exists an attempt to impart Islamic knowledge without correctly decoding it. Thus, over time our inability to understand Islamic beliefs either takes us away from Islam or turns us into intolerant beings who fiercely defend it on baseless claims. It was an effort to avoid similar paths that inspired me to think critically and use reason – tools that help make sense of any religion.

Since my interests narrowed across understanding religion and justifying religious beliefs, I took an immediate liking to the Philosophy of Religion – a branch of religious studies that deals with critically evaluating religion. My current work under this branch took shape in the form of comparative studies. The historical debate which makes a distinction between Judaism and Christianity was what I undertook as my research topic. Was Sanhedrin’s verdict to reject Jesus as the Messiah backed by logical and sufficient reasoning? To critically analyze the historical events leading to Jesus’s trial, I had to study the Jewish messianic expectation during the intertestamental period. I also had to study the Pharisaic law during and after the crucifixion of Jesus. Moreover, I had to evaluate the parallel portrayal of Jesus as a figure in salvation history against the expected Messiah of the Hebrew Bible.

My research involved understanding why the Sanhedrin accused Jesus of blasphemy on his Messianic claim and, if indeed his claim was wrong, why he was charged with crucifixion instead of exile. The paper focuses on laying down facts from Hebrew traditions and Biblical narrations. In addition, it evaluated the claim of two Abrahamic faiths. One that believes that Jesus is indeed the Messiah and the other that refutes it. During my research, I discovered that the proper way to approach any religious claim is by treating it as an object of study.

Any faith that qualifies as religion brings forth its concept of God, its beliefs, practices, and an ethical code that it wants its followers to embrace. Studying any religion requires proper investigation of what it proposes. For example, when a religion makes metaphysical claims to explain the existence of the universe, then is it superior to the counter-scientific argument of inflationary cosmology? If only religion withstands atheistic claims, it qualifies to be studied as a religion.

Philosophy of Religion does precisely that – it studies religion, its beliefs and practices under logic and sufficient reasoning. Through this exercise, a religious studies student approaches dissecting nature and justifies any religion’s claims and moral conduct. A comparative study in this field leads to the parallel study of religions over a variety or one of its core foundational concepts. For example, comparing Mosaic law with Islamic Shariah or the concept of Trinity in Christianity with that of Al-Lah in Islam.

A typical inter-faith discussion in the middle east is more of a heated debate than a dialogue based on sound knowledge. This is because of an embedded intolerance that our society has towards minority religions due to a lack of understanding over justifying our religious beliefs. After completing my graduate education in the US, I want to return and teach comparative religion at my alma mater.

My ambitions are set for two levels. One, I want to work with existing theology faculty to create a thorough curriculum for electives that introduce religious studies as a permanent major to social sciences and liberal arts programs. Two, I want to empower students through critical thinking and its tools that will not only help them justify their own beliefs but also make them tolerant and understanding towards that others.