I know a lot of people here diss Xian religions and the RHP in general, and I know that is the focus of many classes that teach religion as an academic topic, but I was wondering that if I were to take at least one religious studies class in college, is there any advantage that would have in my occultism?
Note; I ask this because I’m going to college to study social sciences, specifically anthropology, and I might get a minor in Middle Eastern culture, which demands knowledge of Islam, so I may take a religious studies class anyway to complete the minor. (And my second choice for a minor would be Latin American culture, which is largely Catholic but has more witchcraft activity within the cultural area). I don’t like the institutions of Abrahamic religions and I find the literature hard to read and accept but there is some interesting philosophy within the contexts of those religions that I have found to be helpful so I wouldn’t mind studying them as an academic.
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Of course. If nothing else you will gain perspective and understanding. I am generally opposed to religion, but I have educated myself quite extensively on many of them in order to come to that conclusion. In the process I have picked up some great insights and I feel I am better off for having studied them. Why throw out the baby with the bath water, right?
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You probably need @ashtkerr & @telgega to answer this one, from the inside out so to speak. 
(Apologies if I left any other Xian folks off, I just know these two drop regular info dumps on threads about history & ideas relating to practicing magick.)
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To study the religion and traditions is very good. The knowledge you can use in your occult practices. Also about the “abrahamic” religions, well don’t be to hard on them. Look from other perspective at the Kabbalah for instance, and you will find out what I am talking about. Also there are a lot of abrahamic sects that are into occultism.
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I think that’s a question better asked to yourself, none of us know your path. I assume a religious studies class would study significantly more than merely religions from the Abrahamic family tree. When you think of religion what do you think of? Do you think of dogma, oppression, and suppression? Or do you think of structure, tradition, and beauty? Are you satisfied with thinking about religions as you see them now? Or do you want to look beneath into the underlying psychological and philosophical framework?
At the very least, you can have a new profound respect for more of the many religions that you may be unaware of. But, at the very most, you can take apart the psychological and philosophical frameworks of religion in order to make it work. For example, there is a big reason why “Catholic Guilt” is such a widely known concept, the Catholic Church primarily views sin a personal issue of conscience to deal with. I’ll spare you the quotations from the Fathers, Doctors, and Councils of the Church and condense it as much as I can. Basically, each person’s conscience is a gift from God and is formed by God. Therefore, an action that is made in accordance with once conscience, God will never judge against. And so, the Church also primarily sees the conscience as the primary force behind personal action, as a result, she encourages internal motivations to obey the moral precepts of the Church, as opposed to external motivations, and in many individuals, this internal motivation toward what the Church teaches is virtue, manifests as guilt.
But, you can say see this philosophical and psychological framework and use it to benefit you in some way, perhaps to more closely view, and then possibly, to change.
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Religion and advertising are tried and true ways to people’s psyches. I studied both. I chose the lhp because its aims are different from the rhp. That’s not to say you can’t learn a lot from the rhp. I did. That’s how eventually I got here!
If you’re in doubt or unsure about taking one or more religious studies class do so because I told you to. And I recommend more than one. Study your enemies so you can subvert them with their own paradigms/tools. Plus religious studies are fun. If god is all powerful and can create anything can he create a rock that’s too heavy for himself to lift?
Try injecting some of the theological optimiser Gottfried Leibniz’s ‘best of all possible worlds’ theodicy. That’s a real Pandora’s Box, a philosophical freak show, so to speak. Or try spreading Arianism. Xtians love nothing more than fighting amongst themselves.
Also, where would Xtians be without Judas? Numb Nuts would have simply died a crazy old man in a bedsit in Jerusalem – without St. Judas Iscariot no forgiveness of sin.
Enjoy!
Al.
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