Religious Studies Jobs – What You Can Do With Your Degree!

Religion is as essential personally as it is professionally. Programs of religious studies offer the opportunity to learn how religions evolve and to dig deep into religious literature, history, and more. Whether your interests lie in religion academically or spiritually, religious studies jobs await you at the end of your program. That’s where GetEducated.com comes in!

Article Navigation: What are Religious Studies? | Exploring Your Options | An Overview – Religious Studies Education | Associate Degree in Religious Studies | Bachelor’s in Religious Studies | Master’s Degrees | Doctoral Degrees | How to Advance Your Career | Professional Organizations & Resources | FAQs | Check Out Online Religious Studies Degrees Today!

What are Religious Studies?

Religious studies cover the common factors of many worldwide or local religions. It is a field that includes history, archaeology, psychology, and theology, among other topics.

Subsequently, religious studies prepare students to work within religious organizations, such as places of worship, nonprofits, or religious schools. But it also enables graduates to work in the private sector as communication specialists, legal experts, diplomats, and much more.

However, religious studies are not the same as becoming an expert in a specific religion. Instead, it’s a field that focuses on the following:

• How religions evolve
• How religions interact with each other
• The common elements shared by multiple religions
• The role religions play in human history and psychology

Exploring Your Options

The question is, how do you become a religious studies professional? We recommend earning a degree to enter this profession.

But what can you do with a religious studies degree?

Earning a religious studies degree opens up plenty of unique professional opportunities. In fact, different degrees correlate with varying levels of career options.

Entry-Level Religious Studies Jobs

Most entry-level positions don’t require specialized knowledge or experience. As a result, they don’t pay as well as other jobs in the same field. But many operate as stepping stones to careers later down the road. For example, you can earn a job as a religious worker with an associate’s, then take that knowledge and put it toward bachelor studies to become a church pastor.

Here are some example entry-level religious studies jobs:

• Religious worker
• Social worker
• Chaplain

Jobs Directly Related to This Degree

Once you earn a bachelor’s degree or higher in religious studies, you’ll have more professional options. The study of religion covers specific or generalized religions and how they interact with human history and psychology. Here are some of the directly related jobs bachelor’s in religious studies prepares you for:

• Teacher
• Clergy
• Community service manager
• Religious consultant

Jobs Where This Degree Would Be Useful

While earning a religious studies degree can be helpful, it may qualify you for opportunities outside religion or academia. Here are some examples:

• Lawyer
• Marketing manager
• Archeologist
• Historian

Where Can You Work as a Religious Studies Professional?

You can work in various institutions and industries as a religious studies professional.

Naturally, you can find employment at religious institutions. Also, social services, charity programs, and academia are available to religious studies professionals.

The government may further employ you if you have religious studies experience. For example, mediators, arbitrators, or diplomats are generally government employees.

The academic sector is a popular place to find work as a religious studies faculty. You can work as a private teacher for a private school. However, to work in public schools, you need teaching experience with a relevant credential, like a bachelor’s degree in education.

Even the private sector has jobs open for religious studies professionals. For instance, marketing and public relations departments craft messages that resonate with religious consumers.

An Overview – Religious Studies Education

Religious studies programs are available at the associate level to the doctoral level. Thus, you can pursue this major from the beginning to the end of your academic studies.

Religious studies degrees are often available with concentrations or focuses. For instance, you can earn a religious studies degree with a concentration in Christian history or a concentration in theological writings.

Regardless, all religious education includes topics and materials related to other interdisciplinary fields such as foreign languages, social studies, etc. This broad focus prepares you for jobs in theology and religion.

Skills Gained with a Religious Studies Degree

When you are in a religious studies degree, you may acquire various valuable skills for your professional future, including:

• Communication skills, including foreign languages skills (particularly for specific ancient languages like ancient Hebrew or ancient Latin)
• Critical thinking skills so you know how to analyze texts and religious stories critically.
• Empathy skills as you learn why people believe in certain religious faiths and the practical value that those beliefs provide to those people

Furthermore, religious studies graduates must know how to write persuasively. Those who end up in academia may have to write papers regarding their studies and conclusions about historical or sacred texts.

Associate Degree in Religious Studies

A religious major might begin with an associate’s degree. These programs take around two years to complete and often are the first step toward a bachelor’s degree. Associate-level courses in religious studies might encompass classes such as:

• The history of religion
• Comparative religion
• How religions interact with each other
• The evolution of religion

Most associate degrees in religious studies are not overly specialized. They’re broad, generalized, and meant to be foundational for pursuing a long-term major in this topic. Also, an associate’s degree prepares students for entry-level positions.

Now take a look at some potential religious studies jobs at the associate level:

Religious Worker

Annual Salary: $43,290
Projected Growth: 7.9%

Religious workers include junior priests or pastors and all other assistants at religious institutions, such as mosques, churches, etc. Generally, these jobs are temporary positions worked while completing school and pursuing higher functions, like that of a pastor.

The exact duties of a religious worker vary between organizations. For example, one church may hire religious workers as janitors or maintenance technicians. In contrast, others might hire donation collectors or charity workers.

Military Chaplain

Annual Salary: $57,230
Projected Growth: 2%

Military chaplains work as enlisted military or as volunteers providing military services to the Army, Marines, Navy, and Air Force. They hear confessions, provide counseling and spiritual services, and hold religious services.

These professionals are often assigned to a specific base or region, making this a reasonably worldly career. However, one may need to be ordained as a minister, depending on their faith or denomination. In that case, a bachelor’s in religious studies is the minimum requirement instead of an associate degree.

Social Services Worker

Annual Salary: $50,390
Projected Growth: 9%

Religious institutions and social services organizations employ social services workers. An associate degree in religious studies could equip you to work in this position because:

• You will learn more about different local and national faiths that can affect social services initiatives
• You will know how to help people through counseling and religious services

Social services workers help social services managers carry out public initiatives. They work to improve the daily lives of communities. In addition, they may work at charity drives and events.

Bachelor’s in Religious Studies

If you want to focus your studies, then a bachelor’s degree in religious studies is the way to go. It is a four-year degree providing general education and specialized courses in religious studies and related topics.

Core courses in a religious studies bachelor program might include:

• Christian religious denominations
• Religion in the modern world
• Religion and psychology
• Foreign languages such as Latin or Greek

Many religious studies bachelor’s programs offer concentrations or minors. In this vein, students can further specialize in divinity, ministry, and more. A bachelor’s degree is often the minimum credential required to become a pastor, clergy member, etc.

Here are a handful of jobs bachelor’s can procure:

Clergy

Annual Salary: $57,230
Projected Growth: 2%

Pastors, ministers, and priests lead church congregations and spiritual services for employing organizations. They are usually ordained, meaning they pass complex tests organized by their churches.

The clergy has certain tax exemptions and community responsibilities. In a religious studies job, faith is central to the life of clergy members, especially if they are pursuing leadership roles. While many organizations require a bachelor’s degree in religious studies, some may request a master’s degree before you qualify.

Community Service Manager

Annual Salary: $74,000
Projected Growth: 12%

Community service managers work for social work organizations and initiatives. They design and carry out projects and policies to better the lives of communities. They may work with licensed social workers, mental health professionals, builders, political scientists, and more.

Community service managers have a lot of responsibilities. A religious studies degree equips them to work in diverse communities. An example is that a religious studies degree teaches how to mediate disagreements between people.

Religious Worker

Annual Salary: $43,290
Projected Growth: 7.9%

With a bachelor’s in religious studies, you may qualify for alternative types of jobs in theology and religion, such as:

• Charity organizers
• Church junior pastors
• Church therapists
• Sunday school teachers

However, your exact responsibilities will vary depending on your church denomination and the rules of your employing organization.

Master’s Degrees

Should you desire, you can pursue even higher education and get a master’s in religious studies. A master’s is a graduate-level degree that averages two years to complete. It also further allows you to concentrate or tailor your schooling to your interests.

For instance, you can earn a master’s in divinity, religious counseling, spirituality, Christianity, Islam, religions of the world, or anything else. Many master’s in religious studies programs qualify you for jobs in religious institutions and academia.

Here are some example jobs in theology and religion available with a master’s degree:

Private School Teacher

Annual Salary: $61,820
Projected Growth: 5%

Religious studies faculty jobs are available with a master’s in religious studies. One popular choice is to work as a private school teacher. Many private schools want educators to have specialty training in religious studies rather than traditional teaching methods.

Private school teachers generally earn more money than public school teachers. Their primary duties involve teaching according to school guidelines and mandates, secondary responsibilities, supervising students, hosting clubs, etc.

Media Consultant

Annual Salary: $62,800
Projected Growth: 8%

Earning a master’s in religious studies could qualify you to work as a media consultant. Media consultants work for religious institutions and private corporations to draft marketing and communication materials.

For example, consultants work with marketing agencies to develop advertising materials that speak to a religious denomination. Or they may work with churches to present communications as diplomatically as possible regarding a recent controversy. Media consultants often take classes or secondary degrees in communications, public relations, and marketing.

Charity Officer

Annual Salary: $74,000
Projected Growth: 12%

Charity officers are directors of donation drives and other charity initiatives. They oversee programs, design them, and hire volunteers or employees to carry them out. Charity officers generally work for social services organizations and many other institutions.

Charity officers may also work on the front lines of charity organizations. Alternatively, they can begin their own nonprofit organizations and work as nonprofit managers.

Doctoral Degrees

Doctoral degrees are the final academic credential you can potentially earn. On average, they take another 2 to 4 years to make after acquiring a master’s degree.

Although they aren’t necessary for most religious studies jobs, they lead to high-paying research and academic careers. They may focus on the historical, archaeological, and philosophical underpinnings of religious organizations and institutions.

For example, Ph.D. religious studies courses might cover the following:

• Archaeological evidence and religions
• Spiritual effects on human views
• Interpreting holy texts
• Research methods

Once you have a doctoral degree in religious studies, you may qualify for several new jobs.

Lawyer

Annual Salary: $127,990
Projected Growth: 10%

You can become a lawyer if you earn a doctorate in religious studies alongside a JD or Juris Doctor diploma. This education requires many years of schooling, but it equips you to handle complex cases involving religious disputes, border disagreements, and text interpretations.

Lawyers are universally well-respected and earn excellent salaries. Furthermore, lawyers with religious specialties are likely to be in demand in the future, given the difficulty in acquiring the credentials necessary to be an expert in both the legal and religious fields.

UN Diplomat

Annual Salary: $122,510
Projected Growth: 6%

The UN employs thousands of people who primarily mediate disputes between different groups. As a primary peacekeeping organization, the UN works with many different cultures and countries around the globe.

Through a Ph.D. religious studies program, students understand how different religions and faiths interact with each other. In addition, you will understand how that interaction can drive human behavior on large scales. You may qualify for UN diplomat or political scientist positions. However, you will likely need to have experience as a mediator and professional diplomat in government beforehand.

Religious Studies Professor

Annual Salary: $79,640
Projected Growth: 12%

Once you have a doctoral degree, you could qualify for religious studies professor jobs at respected institutions. In fact, both private and public universities employ postsecondary teachers frequently. To this end, your in-depth knowledge of religious studies equips you to teach in your specialty.

Professors can do regular research on archaeological artifacts and historical texts. They may also publish papers regarding their interpretations and eventually earn tenure and job security.

The primary duties of a religious studies faculty job, of course, will be to guide students toward success with the most qualified knowledge.

How to Advance Your Career

You can primarily advance your career in religious studies by earning a higher degree or acquiring experience in your field. However, some religious studies jobs require specific advancement steps.

For example, suppose you want to become a pastor. In that case, you must pass ordination exams and meet specific requirements or qualifications.

Regardless, advancing your career is wise to earn more money. Religious studies degree salary increases as you acquire higher credentials and more critical positions.

How to Switch Your Career to Religious Studies

If you already have a major, it’s not too late to switch to religious studies. Similarly, even if you’ve already graduated college, you can always go back and take a religious studies program from scratch. Remember that credits from your previous credentials may count toward a new degree, depending on your prior major.

Future Outlook

Jobs in theology and religion, academia, and social work should have plenty of growth in the future. Clergy members, for example, are always necessary for new churches or congregations.

Also, many historical and archaeological organizations look for religious studies professionals to further their academic pursuits.

Professional Organizations & Resources

In your pursuit of religious studies jobs and degrees, you may find these professional organizations and resources to be helpful:

• American Academy of Religion
• Adventist Society for Religious Studies
• African Association for the Study of Religions
• Association of Practical Theology
• Association of Social Scientists of Religion
• College Theology Society
• Feminist Studies in Religion

FAQs

What can I do with a religious studies degree?

With a religious studies degree, you can work for religious organizations. But you can also enter academia and become a teacher. Private organizations and corporations may employ you, such as marketing firms, government agencies, etc.

How much money does religious studies make?

Religious studies majors earn anywhere from $30,000 per year to upwards of $90,000 per year or more. It all depends on the degree they earn and where they work.

What’s the difference between theology and religious studies? What can you do with a theology degree?

A theology degree is closely related to religious studies, and employers may treat it the same depending on the organization. You can become a church minister or pastor, a social services worker, and much more with a theology degree. Theology vs religion often comes down to concentration or focus.

Is religious studies a good major?

Religious studies is an excellent major if you are interested in religion professionally, academically, or personally. Note that religious studies teach you more about religions overall rather than the specific details of one faith.

Check Out Online Religious Studies Degrees Today!

There are many different jobs with a religious studies degree. Fortunately, the best religious studies programs are 100% online and asynchronous, allowing you to complete your education on your time.

GetEducated.com has a range of resources available to help you pick the right online religious studies program for your needs. Check out our online school listings today!