{"id":2501,"date":"2026-03-24T10:48:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T15:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/religion\/?page_id=2501"},"modified":"2026-03-24T12:50:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T17:50:30","slug":"student-quotes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/religion\/student-quotes\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Quotes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"Addie Flesch, class of 2026 (Religion, Psychology, Environmental Studies concentration)<\/strong>
\nI study religion because people need to feel connected to something greater than themselves for their well-being. At its best, religion channels that sense of connection into a motivating force for justice, benefiting not only humans but all of creation.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\"\"Claire Miller, class of 2029 (Religion and Biology; concentration in Environmental Studies):<\/strong> I study religion because it\u2019s a wonderful lens with which to look at faith, and faith is what I believe to be the most fundamental aspect of human existence. How humbling, frustrating and delightful it is to learn about something that doesn\u2019t make sense!<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\"\"Jonah Hoch, class of 2029 (Religion):<\/strong> I study religion because I can confidently say that I know nothing. In a world that is so sure of reality, religion makes us question the breadth of our understanding. It confronts our presuppositions about the world itself. Religion, and to a greater extent theology, forces us to admit our inability, and extol the mystery.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t<\/div> \n\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t

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\"\"Solveig Senf, class of 2027 (Religion Quantitative Economics; concentration in Statistics and Data Science):<\/strong>
\nPart of the reason I chose St. Olaf was because it promises an opportunity to explore vocation\u2013a sense of meaning in life, community, and career. For me, exploring one\u2019s vocation is deeply tied to a question I often return to: \u201cHow to love this world?\u201d Religion, more than any other discipline, takes that question seriously. I\u2019m grateful to have had the opportunity to spend dedicated time exploring and engaging with different possible answers.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\"\"Benji Zupfer, class of 2027 (Religion and Physics; concentration in Engineering Studies):<\/strong>
\nI study religion because there are so many niches to explore, and you can make it your own. Some choose to study the major religions, learn their primary doctrines, and compare each of them. Others may take classes about the history of religious practice and the philosophy behind religion in general. Still, others dive into the secular, the abstract, or even the very niche and particular. The best part? There is no wrong answer. Go as deep or as shallow as you’d like. Learn to accept you’ll never know all the answers. Start to view the world through a broader lens informed by lived experience and intensive study. Meet with professors to refine your paper into something you’re proud to put your name on. If any of these sound appealing to you, the religion major makes it possible!<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t<\/div> \n\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t

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\"\"Mason Buendorf, class of 2026 (Religion, Economics):<\/strong> I study religion because it equips me for dialogue, discernment, and responsible participation in society while also helping me think deeply about truth, values, and what it means to live well.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\"\"Hailie Frederickson, class of 2028 (Religion, Nursing):<\/strong> I study Religion because it’s a little bit of everything! From anthropology, geography, linguistics, and history, to economics; religion is everywhere! I think the unique transdisciplinarity of the field of religion makes me a better student, person, neighbor, and citizen.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t<\/div> \n\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":239,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2501","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/religion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/religion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/religion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/religion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/239"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/religion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2501"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/religion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2530,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/religion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2501\/revisions\/2530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/religion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}