I am having a conflict of what to get a PhD in - I am looking at a PhD
in Public Policy OR a PhD in Religion. I have a Master's in Public
Administration from a top 5 program and a BA in Political Science with
a double major in Philosophy & Religion.

In my research for Religion PhD programs, all of them require at least
2-3 foreign languages, and occasionally you can substitute classes in
statistics for a language. Are there any PhD programs from at least
semi-respectable schools that do not require foreign languages if your
research does not need it? Or do any programs exist which have only 1
foreign language requirement which may be fulfilled by taking
statistics?

I am only interested in the purely academic study of religion (no
bible colleges/seminary schools).

Another question - you don?t have to answer this, but I'd be curious
to know if you found some ideas in the course of looking for my
previous question: are there any jobs that Religion PhDs can obtain
that don?t involve teaching?

You could either be "Lecturing" or Ministering which also involves
some teaching.  Of course, you could be employed at an office doing
non-specialized administrative/executive duties which have nothing to
do with religion.
If the pay is commensurate, why complain?  If you can't do what you
love - Love what you do and be happy!

I am interested in the academic study of religion (ie, no
"ministering"). My presumption is that Religion PhDs, like other
fields, can be employed by researchers.

It obviously would matter - if I enjoy research and writing that does
not mean I would enjoy teaching, even if it is in my field.

Money is not everything.

By the way, Ive raised the price to $15 - if there are any RESEARCHERS
who are looking at this and think it would take more than that, let me
know...I'm willing to up the price but I really dont need a very huge
answer either.

Dear Journey, 

I am almost at the same field as you, and almost at the same stage of
life (OK, I am hopefully towards the end of my never-ending
dissertation...). I am not going to answer your question, because - if
I understood it correctly, you're looking for someone who'd find top
ranking departments of Religious Studies, which will not require
languages - I am not aware of any, and sorry, would not browse for $15
through the top 50 or so, to see if one of them doesn't require
languages.

However, I have a few helpful suggestions, based on my very intimate
acquintance of this discipline.

(1) What discipline - have you thought of checking out sociology
departments that are strong in sociology of religion? What about
public policy/government/poli-sci schools that have researchers strong
in religion (for example, Kellog at Notre Dame, Government@Georgetown
has several strong researchers like Clyde Wilcox)? Other channels you
might want to explore: History (if history of religion interests you
more than the social and political aspects of spirituality/belief);
Cultural Studies.

(2) Languages - this is not as impossible as you might think and would
certainly help your professional development, even if you would go on
social science approaches, which is what I suggest. Most top academics
that I know, also if they are sociologists and social scientists, are
pretty fluent in *at least* two languages and know a third. Usually
more. The International Society of Sociology of Religion asks people
to hand in articles with a French/English abstract (depending on the
main language of the article, the other should be the abstract's). By
the way, check with the grad-students' advisor of the relevant
departments, but in many cases the language requirements are to be
fulfilled throughout the graduate school studies.

(3) Jobs not at universities/colleges: The Chronicle of Higher
Education (http://chronicle.com) has sometimes articles by PhDs in
various disciplines, who have found alternative jobs. Many go through
further professional studies (law school/journalism and yes, also
public administration); in your field, especially if you'd do it as a
poli-sci doctorate or similar, there might be need in certain branches
of the government dealing with the research/analysis of fundamentalist
groups and religious trends; another course of career might be in NGOs
working for interreligious dialogue, or for education about
religion/tolerance; naturally, there are other professions - religion
correspondent for a media outlet, for example; working for
religion-related lobbies, etc.

Politicalguru,

I appreciate your comments. Just so your aware, I wasnt looking for
the top 50 ranked programs in religion that dont have a language
requirement. Ten good ones (dont have to be top ten) or actually even
five would work!

I am not trying to get "out of" a foreign language - I could probably
do one. My problem is that for whatever reason, I have difficulties
with grasping foreign languages. Given that, it would be pointless for
me to get into a program which requires three or four.

I was not aware of political science programs with a politics &
religion concentration - I will certainly look into those!

I have considered going the political science route, but I cant seem to find