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Major · Theology and Religious Vocations

Train as a Director of Religious Education — the praxis lane of theology, not the scholarly one

Religious Education prepares students to teach, plan, and lead formation programs inside congregations, parochial schools, and faith-based institutions. About 608 degrees are awarded annually across 77 colleges, with bachelor's completers reporting median five-year earnings near $44,385 and associate's completers near $35,131.

Schools offering
77
Annual completions
608
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$44k

About this major

Religious Education is the praxis lane of theology — it sits next to Theology/Theological Studies (the scholarly track) and Bible/Biblical Studies (the Scripture-focused track) but points specifically at teaching, curriculum, and program leadership inside a faith community. The CIP definition is explicit: the program prepares individuals to serve as religious educators, with coursework spanning lesson planning, instructional materials development, supervision of educational activities, and administration of religious education programs. The theology is confessional, framed inside the sponsoring institution's tradition.

The major is modest in size: about 608 degrees are awarded annually across 77 colleges, and output is dominated by a handful of faith-based institutions. Grand Canyon University alone awards 282 bachelor's degrees per year — a reflection of its large online evangelical reach — followed by Yeshiva Gedolah Imrei Yosef D'spinka (41 bachelor's, Hasidic Jewish), University of the Cumberlands (38, KY), Crown College (27, MN), Mount Vernon Nazarene (27, OH), Moody Bible Institute (26), Wheaton College (15), Dallas Baptist (15), Concordia University-Nebraska (12, LCMS Lutheran), and Veritas Baptist (12). The list spans evangelical, Lutheran, and Hasidic Jewish institutions; output at large secular universities is essentially zero.

The occupational destination is narrow but defined. Director of Religious Activities and Education (BLS median $54,840; 2.1% projected growth; bachelor's typical) is the headline role — the DRE position in a Catholic parish, the youth or Christian-education pastor in a Protestant congregation, the formation director in an evangelical megachurch, the LDS Seminary and Institute teacher in the Latter-day Saint education system. Bachelor's completers report median five-year earnings near $44,385, an associate-vs-bachelor split of $35,131 vs $44,385. The postsecondary religion teacher track ($78,050) requires a doctorate and is small. For a meaningful share of students, this bachelor's is also a deliberate pre-MDiv ramp — the on-ramp toward an ordained clergy track that requires the graduate degree on top.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Directors, religious activities and education $55k +2.1% Bachelor's degree
Philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary $78k +0.7% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$44k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$35k

Bachelor's

$44k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you want a clearly defined religious-education or formation role inside a specific faith tradition — DRE, youth pastor, parochial-school teacher, parish formation coordinator, or denominational-school teacher — and you're comfortable inside the theological framework of the sponsoring institution. You're drawn to teaching and curriculum work as the primary practice rather than preaching, scholarship, or pastoral counseling. You accept the field's modest earnings ceiling ($44,385 bachelor's median, $54,840 mid-career DRE wage) and recognize that non-cash compensation — parish housing, tuition remission, room-and-board in boarding-school or seminary contexts — often plays a real role in total compensation. You see this as either a direct entry into a non-ordained professional role, or as a deliberate on-ramp toward a 3-4 year MDiv if you're pointed at ordained clergy work.

Think twice if you're aiming at the scholarly track — a PhD in religious studies or theology is more conventionally prepared by Theology/Theological Studies (39.0601), and the postsecondary religion teacher role requires a doctorate. Think twice if Scripture itself is your primary interest: Bible/Biblical Studies (1,765 annual completions) is the more direct lane for exegesis, biblical languages, and interpretation. Think twice if you want pastoral counseling specifically — Pastoral Studies/Counseling (394 completions) is targeted at that role, and most counseling licensure paths require a master's degree on top of the undergraduate major. And think twice if you don't have a clear denominational or institutional context in mind: this major's job market is concentrated inside specific faith communities, and graduates without a denominational network in place often find the entry path significantly harder than the data suggests.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Religious Education

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ 0 282 282
Yeshiva Gedolah Imrei Yosef D'spinka Brooklyn, NY 0 41 41
University of the Cumberlands Williamsburg, KY 6 32 38
Crown College Saint Bonifacius, MN 6 21 27
Mount Vernon Nazarene University Mount Vernon, OH 0 27 27
Moody Bible Institute Chicago, IL 0 26 26
Wheaton College Wheaton, IL 0 15 15
Dallas Baptist University Dallas, TX 0 15 15
Concordia University-Nebraska Seward, NE 0 12 12
Veritas Baptist College Lawrenceburg, IN 5 7 12
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Bible/Biblical Studies

1,765 completions/yr

Pastoral Studies/Counseling

394 completions/yr

Missions/Missionary Studies

285 completions/yr

Worship Ministry

64 completions/yr

Bioethics/Medical Ethics

63 completions/yr

Urban Ministry

29 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Religious Education majors actually study?
The CIP definition frames the program as the theory and practice of providing educational services inside a particular faith community. Coursework combines biblical/theological content with applied instruction in lesson planning, classroom and small-group teaching, instructional materials development, supervision of religious education programs, and the administration of facilities like Sunday schools, CCD programs, day schools, or LDS seminaries. The theology is confessional rather than comparative — programs reflect the sponsoring institution's tradition, whether evangelical, Catholic, LDS, Lutheran, or Jewish.
What jobs do Religious Education graduates actually get?
The most direct destination is Director of Religious Activities and Education (BLS median wage $54,840; projected growth 2.1%; bachelor's typical), often abbreviated DRE in Catholic and mainline Protestant settings. Other typical roles include youth pastor, Christian-school or Jewish day-school teacher, parish formation coordinator, LDS Seminary and Institute teacher, and parachurch educator. The postsecondary religion teacher track ($78,050 median, 0.7% growth) requires a doctorate and is a small academic lane, not the realistic destination for most bachelor's holders.
How does this differ from Theology/Theological Studies and Bible/Biblical Studies?
Theology/Theological Studies (CIP 39.0601) is the broader scholarly track — systematic theology, church history, ethics — and is more often a pre-MDiv or pre-graduate-school degree. Bible/Biblical Studies (39.0201, 1,765 annual completions) concentrates on Scripture itself: exegesis, biblical languages, and biblical interpretation. Religious Education (608 completions) is the praxis-and-pedagogy lane — the same theological foundation, but oriented toward teaching, curriculum, and program administration rather than scholarship or biblical research. If you want to teach in a congregation or faith-based school, this is the more direct route.
Which schools award the most degrees in this major?
Grand Canyon University dominates output with 282 annual bachelor's completions — a function of its large online evangelical program. Beyond that, top producers fall into recognizable denominational lanes: Yeshiva Gedolah Imrei Yosef D'spinka (41, Hasidic Jewish, NY), University of the Cumberlands (38, KY), Crown College (27, MN, Christian and Missionary Alliance), Mount Vernon Nazarene University (27, OH), Moody Bible Institute (26, IL), Wheaton College (15, IL), Dallas Baptist University (15, TX), Concordia University-Nebraska (12, LCMS Lutheran), and Veritas Baptist College (12, IN). The field is concentrated in faith-based institutions, with output split across evangelical, Lutheran, and Jewish day-school traditions.
Is this a good pre-MDiv or pre-seminary degree?
Yes, with a caveat. For students aiming at ordained clergy, a Master of Divinity (MDiv) is typically the credential that opens that door — a 3-4 year graduate degree that often costs $30,000-$50,000 total, with denominationally affiliated seminaries frequently offering substantial aid or stipends to candidates from sponsoring traditions. A Religious Education bachelor's is a reasonable on-ramp because the biblical, theological, and practical-ministry coursework maps directly into MDiv prerequisites. The caveat: if your goal is the scholarly research route (PhD in theology or religious studies), Theology/Theological Studies (39.0601) is a more conventional preparation.
How do earnings compare across degree levels?
Bachelor's completers report median five-year earnings of about $44,385, while associate's completers report about $35,131 — a meaningful but modest bachelor's premium. The primary occupational destination, Director of Religious Activities and Education, has a $54,840 median wage, which reflects mid-career compensation rather than entry-level pay. Compensation in this field is often non-cash-augmented: parish housing, tuition remission for clergy children, or boarding-school room-and-board can effectively raise total compensation in seminary, day-school, or LDS Seminary system roles, even though those benefits don't show up in BLS wage figures.