I chose Birmingham because it's such an incredibly diverse city with so many different faiths
which seemed like the perfect backdrop to learn about religion itself.
In so many universities, Theology is very Christian-focused and I knew that I wanted
to study a really diverse range of religion and culture.
I found that typically Theology courses at other universities were quite rigid in their
structure and I wanted somewhere where the diversity of the communities engaged with
was reflected in the optional modules and I found that here. I wanted somewhere where
I could personalise my degree course and tailor it to my interests.
So I studied the whole range of different modules ranging from a module about Christmas,
to Holocaust modules to a specifically placement-based module whereby you undertook a placement and
then wrote about it which really helped to enhance and develop your transferable skills.
I've taken a particular interest in Islam which really surprised me because I've never
even done anything on Islam before my time at the University of Birmingham. So in my
first year I studied 'Introduction to Islam' which then progressed into 'Women in Islam'
and 'Islam in the West'. But beyond that I've also studied topics such as Biblical Studies,
Christmas and Ethical Consuming, and Science, Religion and Society, which looks at the way
that science and religion are perceived in today's world what I really got to do was
explore more than just the Abrahamic traditions that you find typically at other universities
so I got to engage with not only Islamic and Christian philosophical theology but also
the dharmic traditions so I got to study Sikhism and Buddhism the secret module was one that
particularly stood out to me when I was researching theology courses so it began with a brief
historical overview of the 10 Sikh gurus and then it started to cover ethical issues and
gender issues within the Sikh community we also got to see theology in action and that
was something that particularly drew me to the course and strengthened my knowledge of
theology and so we got to visit a gurudwara where we actually saw selfless service in
action so we got to see the community kitchen and the community kitchen in the Gurdwara
serves all people from all backgrounds and it's a key example of what the secret represents
I undertook Isabel Wollaston’s module of Auschwitz and history and memory I’d done
a little bit on the holocaust before I entered university during my EPQ which covered topics
of responsibility for the holocaust but the module in general really enhanced my knowledge
we looked at outfits during the time of the holocaust the events that took place there
and also how this influences society today in terms of the history and memory of the
camp and the holocaust in general I’m really interested in public policy and also engaging
with diverse communities and navigating their particular needs and challenges and what's
really helpful is that the academics and the department have a long-standing working relationship
with policymakers and they regularly advise government and public bodies um internationally
and nationally on engagement with faith communities so it fits in really well with what I want
to do and what the department is currently doing after my studies I’m hoping to train
to become a solicitor so I have to undertake two years of legal educational training before
I can do this and I think the theology side of my course has really helped in these endeavours
so from learning to critically analyse a lot of information and condense this information
down doing a lot of research and I think particularly being objective and being able to read material
argue concisely and be objective in those things since I’ve graduated I’ve gone
on to do a master's in religion politics and society and studying theology as an undergraduate
program has really helped me to further develop my skills through being able to argue and
justify points of view whilst also considering other faiths and other perspectives