Career plans?

[Seatbelt Blue]

What's everyone out there planning on doing with their terrible life decision to study theology? 

Edited February 13, 2013 by Seatbelt Blue

[Body Politics]

Barnes & Noble Coffee Shop Barista

[Therewillbeluke]

Barnes & Noble Coffee Shop Barista

 

Hahaha thats what I do now. You too?

[Body Politics]

Haha, no, actually that is just a funny coincidence. I have always wanted to work in a 'cool' coffee shop, though. Maybe in the future, armed with a postgraduate degree and years of rigorous study, this dream might come true.

[Therewillbeluke]

Haha, no, actually that is just a funny coincidence. I have always wanted to work in a 'cool' coffee shop, though. Maybe in the future, armed with a postgraduate degree and years of rigorous study, this dream might come true.

 

Yes, the vocation of the barista truly is the dream of the liberal arts. Hopefully you too will recieve the call haha.

 

I really think that "theologians" are natural baristas. Where I work there is another employee applying to graduate school for religious studies and a former employee is studying to be a priest at the Gregorian in Rome.

[Body Politics]

In all seriousness, though, I want to teach New Testament in a Christian college or seminary. 

[Seatbelt Blue]

I want to be a research professor, but I have this zany idea to start an ecumenical people's seminary. Basically, we'd offer ultra-low-cost courses at multiple levels for people who can't afford or aren't interested in full time schooling in Christian scripture and theology. It would also include free childcare during classes and free tutoring for kids, so it's a ministry on a few different levels.

[sacklunch]

It's funny how it's just assumed everyone in the 'religion' section studies 'theology.' Maybe I'm the freak? I detest theology, to be honest (haha). I study the bible for the same reasons folks study any other ancient document: historical value. Either way, we are in America, and I get that the vast majority of graduate students in religion are faithful Christians, but alas, it always strikes me as a bit odd when folks assume someone must be interested in theology to study religion.

 

cheers

[Body Politics]

@Seatbelt Blue -

I would love to do something like that with Saturday classes or week intensives. There's such a terrible gap between the academy and the church (even the ministers!) and, while I think MDivs help bridge that a bit, it would be even better to offer some sort of free or low-cost opportunity to provide good, life-long learning for people in the ministry, as well as those who are simply interested.

Edited February 13, 2013 by Body Politics

[Seatbelt Blue]

@Seatbelt Blue -

I would love to do something like that with Saturday classes or week intensives. There's such a terrible gap between the academy and the church (even the ministers!) and, while I think MDivs help bridge that a bit, it would be even better to offer some sort of free or low-cost opportunity to provide good, life-long learning for people in the ministry, as well as those who are simply interested.

Yeah, that's more or less my plan. I think people need to be able to own their faith instead of just winging it. I'm not expecting everyone to be a scholar, but there has to be more than a basic understanding in this day and age. I'm looking at this from a Catholic perspective, where our catechesis is pisspoor and most of my fellow Catholics couldn't begin to tell you what we believe or why we believe it. But I'm looking for something beyond just "fix our catechesis;" I want to be able to make understanding the faith part of the patrimony of the regular believer. It shouldn't be locked away in a tower.

[belichick]

It's funny how it's just assumed everyone in the 'religion' section studies 'theology.' Maybe I'm the freak? I detest theology, to be honest (haha). I study the bible for the same reasons folks study any other ancient document: historical value. Either way, we are in America, and I get that the vast majority of graduate students in religion are faithful Christians, but alas, it always strikes me as a bit odd when folks assume someone must be interested in theology to study religion.

 

cheers

 

do you feel you're able to separate the two?

[bondsdw]

It's funny how it's just assumed everyone in the 'religion' section studies 'theology.' Maybe I'm the freak? I detest theology, to be honest (haha). I study the bible for the same reasons folks study any other ancient document: historical value. Either way, we are in America, and I get that the vast majority of graduate students in religion are faithful Christians, but alas, it always strikes me as a bit odd when folks assume someone must be interested in theology to study religion.

 

cheers

 

My focus is similar.  Of course, all my experience has been in religious studies at public institutions, which obviously has something to do with it.  That being said, I consider myself a historian of early Christianity and the work I do on it largely historical.  Nothing wrong with theology.  I'm glad people do it, and I think it is good work.  Just not what I'm interested in.

 

And as someone going for a PhD in religion/religious studies, I naturally want to be a professor.  Pretty much the only option to be had.  Public or private, secular or religious, small or big.  I don't care.  I'll teach for whatever school will have me!

[sacklunch]

do you feel you're able to separate the two?

 

Inasmuch as I am able, I think so. Someone studying classics rarely finds this a problem. It's strange that no one thinks twice when someone says they are in graduate school for, say, ancient Greek history. Folks don't normally respond with questions about which god(s)/goddess(es) they worship. I guess it also depends on what you define as "theology." If you mean systematics or ethics, then yes. Again, someone studying ancient Greek ethics or philosophy isn't generally confronted with such a problem. They attempt to reconstruct whatever the text most likely said in its original context. Similarly, I think this is possible in the study of religion, whatever the tradition you happen to be studying. Of course, living in a culture where folks practice that particular religion muddies things. But, for instance, when I am translating stuff from the HB I literally don't ever think about its 'theological' meaning (much in the same way I wouldn't reflect on characteristics of Dionysus in the Bacchae).

 

cheers 

[sacklunch]

My focus is similar.  Of course, all my experience has been in religious studies at public institutions, which obviously has something to do with it.  That being said, I consider myself a historian of early Christianity and the work I do on it largely historical.  Nothing wrong with theology.  I'm glad people do it, and I think it is good work.  Just not what I'm interested in.

 

And as someone going for a PhD in religion/religious studies, I naturally want to be a professor.  Pretty much the only option to be had.  Public or private, secular or religious, small or big.  I don't care.  I'll teach for whatever school will have me!

 

Agreed! Much of my training has been by the Jesuits (undergrad and first masters) and I am very grateful for their scholarship. And it goes without saying that I deeply respect anyone that does in fact study theology. It's just not for everyone. 

[11Q13]

I'd like to teach Bible, early Christianity/Judaism at a top Christian college or seminary. Some place where I could do research, get travel grants, tenure, and where I could expect my students to be interested, engaging, and get better than a 70% average on their midterm. 

[marXian]

Interesting conversation re: theology and religion. I'm just the fourth theologian to be admitted to Northwestern's theology track (which started sometime in the late 2000s.) Many of the people in the department do ethnography/anthropology/sociology of religion with a few people doing Jewish philosophy, and some doing Islamic studies. There is a rather contentious history between theology and the scientific study of religion. Most people on this forum seem to either be doing biblical studies/early Christianity or theology, though I've seen a few in American religions and Eastern religions people.

 

All that to say, I'm with you, jdmhottness--not everyone who studies religion does theology. (Though part of my work at NU is on how method in religious studies can incorporate some tools from recent critical theory work in theology.) It's certainly interesting to see how the two fields speak to each other within the secular academy.

[belichick]

Inasmuch as I am able, I think so. Someone studying classics rarely finds this a problem. It's strange that no one thinks twice when someone says they are in graduate school for, say, ancient Greek history. Folks don't normally respond with questions about which god(s)/goddess(es) they worship. I guess it also depends on what you define as "theology." If you mean systematics or ethics, then yes. Again, someone studying ancient Greek ethics or philosophy isn't generally confronted with such a problem. They attempt to reconstruct whatever the text most likely said in its original context. Similarly, I think this is possible in the study of religion, whatever the tradition you happen to be studying. Of course, living in a culture where folks practice that particular religion muddies things. But, for instance, when I am translating stuff from the HB I literally don't ever think about its 'theological' meaning (much in the same way I wouldn't reflect on characteristics of Dionysus in the Bacchae).

 

cheers 

 

I think you're right that the key is in how we define theology.  Your first examples draw a line between one's practice and one's trade ("folks don't normally respond with questions about which god(s)/goddess(es) they worship)--which is great. But your last statement is surprising. Are you saying that when you translate the HB you don't think about the theological questions that are driving the composition of the literature?

[devona]

@Seatbelt Blue and @Body Politics: I just could not agree more with you that this gap between the Church and the Academy has to be closed. I am applying to study literature and theology so that I can teach at the college level, but I also really feel called to develop deeper and more accessible Christian adult education programs. I think the arts have a unique ability to enhance Christian discipleship training, and so my long-term goal is to some day teach at a Christian college while developing and teaching adult education programs in churches that utilize the arts as a means of engaging meaningful theological inquiry. 

 

I also think the Church has a general responsibility (and opportunity) to be a force of education within society. For example, churches often can (and therefore should) provide literacy and basic budgeting courses for those who might benefit from such instruction. I think something I have been realizing over the past few years is that I would like to use my degree to empower others in the Church to share their own intellectual resources to benefit the community. 

[newenglandshawn]

Are you saying that when you translate the HB you don't think about the theological questions that are driving the composition of the literature?

 

I think this is a very insightful question! Whether the modern interpreter cares about questions of theology is one thing, but it doesn't seem like he/she can study ancient religious literature without considering the theology the author(s) was trying to convey. One cannot deny, for example, that the authors/redactors of 1st, 2nd, or 8th ( ) Isaiah definitely had theological motivations in mind when composing the book. So, to divorce theology from the study of a book seems problematic. It completely ignores a critical element of the compositional process.

[sacklunch]

I think you're right that the key is in how we define theology.  Your first examples draw a line between one's practice and one's trade ("folks don't normally respond with questions about which god(s)/goddess(es) they worship)--which is great. But your last statement is surprising. Are you saying that when you translate the HB you don't think about the theological questions that are driving the composition of the literature?

 

Good point. I was not clear enough. I mean that when I translate such texts I don't read them with any purpose to fulfill my own faith. My point is merely that I don't consider reading ancient documents critically (which, as you say, includes the attempt to better understand the 'theological' context of the translator(s)) theology. Again, anyone else reading (religious) ancient Greek documents does this very thing (historical-critical); yet no one would dare call it theology.

 

cheers

Edited February 14, 2013 by jdmhotness

[Seatbelt Blue]

Everything is theology 

[sacklunch]

I completely disagree. It only becomes interesting at the AAR after everybody gets drunk. Then, maybe, it is interesting. Otherwise it is boring and uninspiring watching a discipline continue to operate decades behind "critical theory" (or anthropology, sociology, psychology, etc) in its exciting 'new' turns...

 

Gardener vs. Botanist; 1800s Botanist vs. 2013 Botanist. Religious studies is the worst discipline from which to study religion.

 

Edit: I am clearly and mindfully attempting to provoke an interesting conversation.

 

You mean only interesting at the SBL when everyone gets drunk.

[Seatbelt Blue]

I am confused.

[Seatbelt Blue]

@Seatbelt Blue and @Body Politics: I just could not agree more with you that this gap between the Church and the Academy has to be closed. I am applying to study literature and theology so that I can teach at the college level, but I also really feel called to develop deeper and more accessible Christian adult education programs. I think the arts have a unique ability to enhance Christian discipleship training, and so my long-term goal is to some day teach at a Christian college while developing and teaching adult education programs in churches that utilize the arts as a means of engaging meaningful theological inquiry. 

 

I also think the Church has a general responsibility (and opportunity) to be a force of education within society. For example, churches often can (and therefore should) provide literacy and basic budgeting courses for those who might benefit from such instruction. I think something I have been realizing over the past few years is that I would like to use my degree to empower others in the Church to share their own intellectual resources to benefit the community. 

Awesome! We should all keep in touch as we move forward in our educations. This might be a bit of a burgeoning network.

[Josh J.]

I'm hoping to teach history/do research at some sort of college or university. I'm persuing the MTS for good grounding in theology and religious history, then hope to do the PhD in a secular history department, but I'll be applying to both religion and history departments to up my chances.

I'm more interested in studying religious history in its secular context, if that makes any sense.