Study of Religions

Do you want to understand the value foundations of human cultures and navigate information about the problems of the contemporary world?

By studying religious studies at Masaryk University you will gain a comprehensive knowledge of the main religious traditions of the past and present in their societal context. In addition to a basic overview of the main traditions, a wide range of elective courses allows you to focus on a specific area and religion of your own interest.

Practically, you will learn to locate reliable sources of information, use them critically, and apply your knowledge in quality oral and written expression. You will gain insight into the basic procedures of religious studies and, if you wish, you will have the opportunity to learn the basics of any of the source languages offered. These include Arabic, Latin, Sanskrit, Japanese and Chinese.

In the single-subject study and master plan, you will also acquire the basics of scientific work, including knowledge of specialized research methods. You will learn the basics of qualitative and quantitative research methods. You will have the opportunity to learn about experimental research and work with historical sources.

By fostering an interdisciplinary approach, you will become familiar with the practices of several humanities and social science disciplines.

During your studies, you will have the opportunity to participate in regular field trips and engage in student activities. For example, the film club or the student-run departmental journal Sacra.

The study also includes the opportunity to go on an internship abroad through the ERASMUS+ and CEEPUS programmes.

Is studying the programme for you?

Answer these questions:

• Would you be interested in exploring religion as phenomena of human culture that are reflected in various areas of human activity?
• Would you like to understand the problems of today's world where many different cultures meet in peace and conflict?

“To study religion is to learn to understand the foundations of human cultures.”

Practical training

The study programme does not involve required practical training.

Further information

Visit the website of the Department for the Study of Religions and find out what events we hold outside of class, what activities you can get involved in, and much more.

Graduates are qualified for positions requiring critical thinking and cross-cultural adaptability. They usually work in teaching, journalism, administration, specialized sectors of the tourist industry, non-governmental organizations, the media, project writing in both the public and private sectors, companies focusing on the develop-ment of games and on leisure activities, and start-ups requiring creative thinking. They can offer employers strong analytical skills, creative thinking, presentation skills, flexibility, intercultural orientation, familiarity with the assumptions and meth-ods of several disciplines within the humanities and the social sciences, the skill of writing original texts that are both formally and factually correct, the capacity to think in global and interdisciplinary terms, and the ability methodically to pursue complex, demanding, and long-term projects.

This programme is taught in Czech.

The criteria for admission for studies are the results of the written Field of Study Examination. Applicants may also be admitted based on other criteria, see Admission without the Entrance Examination. The Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University disregards the results of SCIO National Comparative Examinations.

You can file your e-applications for studies from 1 November to 28 February.
Field of Study Examinations will be held from 15 April to 21 April.
The date and time of the examination will be stated in the electronic invitation for the examination, which will be uploaded to your e-application. The faculty will not be sending paper invitations. Applicants applying for the major study plan and minor study plan in a combined study must comply with the conditions for admission into both plans.

Learning Potential Test (TSP)

For admission for studies in this degree programme, you do not need to take the TSP.

Field of Study Examination

This examination is only in Czech. It is intended to check the applicants’ knowledge of the given field of study. It is done in the form of a written test.

Basic description of the Field of Study Examination:

The field of study test has three parts:

• reading comprehension of a short English text (20 points)
• multiple choice questions (40 points)
• 5 open questions (40 points)

The applicants are expected to have general knowledge of European history, general cultural knowledge, and basic knowledge of the most important texts of European religious traditions, mainly the Bible.

Sample question: Buddhism is a religion which originated from:
a) Tibet
b) India
c) China
d) Japan

Admission without the entrance examination

You may be exempt from the entrance examination based on at least one of the following criteria:

1. participation in a national round of Students’ Professional Activities (SOČ) in the field of philosophy, political studies, and other humanities;
2. secondary school results from profile subjects of Czech (Slovak) language, history, basics of social sciences and a foreign language of the applicant’s choice.

Secondary school results may be applied for an exemption from the entrance examination by those applicants whose average grade was 1.5 or higher in each of the four profile subjects. The total average result in all subjects is not taken into consideration. Secondary school seminars are also disregarded. The average grade of each profile subject is calculated based on the results of the last four years of study in the following way: the mid-year grade is calculated from the final year, whereas the final grades are calculated from the previous three years. It is also necessary that applicants have studied each of the profile subjects for at least two years during the last four years.
Enter your grades in your e-application. Then print the grades out and let your secondary school certify them with a stamp and a signature. Upload the scan of the certified grades into your e-application. You can also upload officially certified school reports or any other documents certifying your school results.
Please upload the officially certified documents directly to your e-application in the section Application for the Exemption from the Entrance Examination no later than 28 February.

Criteria for evaluation

• Total number of points in the Field of Study Examination: 100
• Limit for successfully passing the Field of Study Examination: 60

Points are not deducted for incorrect answers.

Recommended literature

For the entrance examination:

• Jaromír Schön, Občanský a společenskovědní základ. Náboženství, Kralice na Hané: Computer Media 2012.
• Bible. Písmo svaté Starého a Nového zákona, český ekumenický překlad, Praha: Česká biblická společnost 1985.

Further recommended literature:

• Bělka, Luboš - Fujda, Milan - Kubovčáková, Zuzana, Náboženství světa II: východní tradice, Brno: Masarykova univerzita 2014. (dostupné online)
• Filipský, Jan, Encyklopedie indické mytologie: postavy indických bájí a letopisů, Praha: Libri 1998.
• Horyna, Břetislav a Helena Pavlincová, Judaismus-Křesťanství-Islám, Olomouc: nakladatelství Olomouc, 2003.
• Chalupa, Aleš a kol., Náboženství světa I: západní tradice, Brno: Masarykova univerzita 2014. (dostupné online)
• Kropáček, Luboš, Duchovní cesty islámu, Praha: Vyšehrad, 6. vyd. 2018.
• Schubert, Kurt, Židovské náboženství v proměnách věků: zdroje, teologie, filosofie, mystika, vyd. 3., rev. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2010.

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Minimum score and numbers of accepted applicants in past years

After completion of the Bachelor’s studies, graduates can continue further studies in the Master’s degree programme in the Study of Religions or any other Master’s degree programme (after satisfying the admission requirements).