If you are a non-Catholic, what is the minimum educational requirement to be a “minister”, “preacher”, “Rabbi” or any formal “leader” in your religion

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If you are a non-Catholic, what is the minimum educational requirement to be a “minister”, “preacher”, “Rabbi” or any formal “leader” in your religion?

I have read that it takes 7-9 or 10 years of formal education to be a Roman Catholic Priest, or 5-6 years of school after receiving a basic degree, please correct me if I am wrong.

Does it matter how much education your religious leader has? I think it does (I am a Roman Catholic).
 
For a minister in the Presbyterian Church in Canada you require a 3 year Master of Divinity degree from one of the three associated theological colleges on top of your 4 year undergraduate degree. You require the approval of your own church session as well as your presbytery before you can be registered for ordination.
 
SyCarl said:
For a minister in the Presbyterian Church in Canada you require a 3 year Master of Divinity degree from one of the three associated theological colleges on top of your 4 year undergraduate degree. You require the approval of your own church session as well as your presbytery before you can be registered for ordination.
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About the same for Lutherans.
 
For a minister in the United Methodist Church, (1) enrollment and completion of candidacy studies from a Board of Ordained Ministry, (2) a four-year B.A./B.S. degree, (3) a three-year (90 hours) Master of Divinity degree from an accredited seminary/school of divinity, (4) examinations by the Board of Ordained Ministry, (5) psychological examination, (6) three years of full-time pastoral experience in a local parish. In some cases, a year of clinical pastoral education is also required by local (conference, akin to a diocese) Boards of Ordained Ministry.
 
For a minister in the Unitarian Universalist Church:
uua.org/leaders/leaderslibrary/ministerialcredentialing/index.shtml

The basic requirements for Unitarian Universalist (UU) ministry are:
  1. Career assessment program at a career center approved by the Ministerial Fellowship Committee
  2. Candidacy status granted by a Regional Sub-Committees on Candidacy (RSCC)
  3. Sponsorship by a UU Congregation
  4. Master of Divinity degree or its equivalent;
  5. Approved internship;
  6. Basic unit of Clinical Pastoral Education;
  7. Completion of the Reading List;
  8. Interview with the Ministerial Fellowship Committee.
 
Anyone’s religions specifically check for these things? If not why not.

1 Timothy 3:2-13 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
 
I am a SBC pastor. In the past, no formal education was required. Today, most have a MDIV which is short on Bible and Theology and big on “isms”.

To be a SBC pastor or deacon…
  1. Tell everyone the Lord has called you.
  2. Hear the AMENS.
  3. Get the rubber stamp of approval from your pastor
    and deacon board.
  4. Sit for examination…not many theological questions, but
    many questions on where you stand on drinking
    alcohol…:rolleyes:
  5. Sent to a seminary in learn the “isms”,
  6. graduate, if you toe the party line
  7. Go to a church, emulate Rick Warren or Joel Osteen more than
    any church father or Apostle or possible Christ.
  8. Teach doctrine…get called on the carpet. Teach touchy feeling
    and become an up and rising star.
  9. Teach and preach anything other than you can save yourself
    and God is your sugar daddy and you are black listed as a
    terrible “calvinist”:eek:
    Could go on, but you get the picture.
Oh the big one…mis represent what catholics, Anglicans and others believe…especially at Easter and Christmas.😉

To be a deacon…win a popularity contest:shrug:

And no, I am not bitter…just enlightened:D

Mark
 
To clarify, a Masters of Divinity is a 4 year postgraduate degree, so you are looking at roughly 8 years at minimum including undergraduate and graduate work, presuming the person goes to school full time and does not go on for a Doctor of Divinity degree.

I am having a lot of difficulty finding something that spells out exactly what is required in terms of educational preparation to become a Roman Catholic priest, but the seminary portion seems to be roughly equivalent to this.
usml.edu/education/MDiv/admission.htm

General info on becoming a rabbi
www2.monstertrak.com/help_manuals/outlook/ocos062.html
as with most others, an undergraduate degree then 4-5 years of seminary training.
 
Jimmy_B said:
If you are a non-Catholic, what is the minimum educational requirement to be a “minister”, “preacher”, “Rabbi” or any formal “leader” in your religion?

I have read that it takes 7-9 or 10 years of formal education to be a Roman Catholic Priest, or 5-6 years of school after receiving a basic degree, please correct me if I am wrong.

Does it matter how much education your religious leader has? I think it does (I am a Roman Catholic).
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To let you see the big picture, instead of the narrow view you have, ask yourself:

What training did John the Baptist have which was academic?
What training did the disciples have academically?

The teaching of Christ wasn’t systematized. Christ’s disciples did that.

You could have a PH.D. and still be a bumbling fool.

Your post presupposes that all protestant churches lack credibility through academia. Some pastors do lack divinity training, but the majority have some theological training.

Peace…

MW
 
Mystic_Warrior said:
To let you see the big picture, instead of the narrow view you have, ask yourself:

What training did John the Baptist have which was academic?
What training did the disciples have academically?

The teaching of Christ wasn’t systematized. Christ’s disciples did that.

You could have a PH.D. and still be a bumbling fool.

Your post presupposes that all protestant churches lack credibility through academia. Some pastors do lack divinity training, but the majority have some theological training.

Peace…

MW
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Hello Mystic Warrior,

I will tell you what I have told other posters here, on different threads and that is this;

"My comments apply to those, whom they apply to"

It is as simple as that; please don’t try to read too much into “thread questions”.

I do believe in some of what you state here but disagree with more. If the question (posed in my thread) applies to your belief, then explain why it does.

If I were required to match-up the question posed in every thread I write, with everyone here at CAF, there would not be many questions that I would be allowed to ask. Obviously, there will always be those who the “thread question” does not apply to.

This “question”, however presumptuous, will find its “buyer”.

I already know that there exist “older” Christian denominations where there is a requirement; of a formal education and that’s great. My question “presupposes” one fact and that is that there are Christian religions where there are no educational requirements, at all. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Moreover, there a Christians who do not believe they are not necessary.

In viewing your comments, regardless of your own religion’s requirements, you apparently do not believe it is necessary, so I guess this thread, to a certain extant, speaks to you. You confirm my ''predisposed" belief in this thread by your own comments. 👍

I will address your comments, which I believe are flawed and not applicable in many ways, at a later time.

Take care and thank you for your post.
 
Jesus chose men who for the most part, were uneducated, and possibly illerate. If you notice in the Bible, Jesus takes his disciples on a journey throughout Gailee teaching them about the Kingdom of God, good and evil, moral practices and abolition of immoral practices. None of these men were in a university getting a religious education. Yes, they were inspired by God to preach. But now days, denominational faiths put too much emphasis on “formal religious education”.

In Mark 16:16, jesus told his disciples to, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” In Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”

In the Church of Christ, many men do go to college and obtain degrees in the Bible. Others go into a 2 year preaching school, operated by very experienced men who have been preachers most of their lives. Then, there are very few who show an inordinate grasp of the truths spoken of in the Bible, who need no formal education in order to "preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:2).

Formal education does not the preacher make.

:tiphat:
 
Jimmy_B said:
Hello Mystic Warrior,

I will tell you what I have told other posters here, on different threads and that is this;

"My comments apply to those, whom they apply to"

It is as simple as that; please don’t try to read too much into “thread questions”.

I do believe in some of what you state here but disagree with more. If the question (posed in my thread) applies to your belief, then explain why it does.

If I were required to match-up the question posed in every thread I write, with everyone here at CAF, there would not be many questions that I would be allowed to ask. Obviously, there will always be those who the “thread question” does not apply to.

This “question”, however presumptuous, will find its “buyer”.

I already know that there exist “older” Christian denominations where there is a requirement; of a formal education and that’s great. My question “presupposes” one fact and that is that there are Christian religions where there are no educational requirements, at all. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Moreover, there a Christians who do not believe they are not necessary.

In viewing your comments, regardless of your own religion’s requirements, you apparently do not believe it is necessary, so I guess this thread, to a certain extant, speaks to you. You confirm my ''predisposed" belief in this thread by your own comments. 👍

I will address your comments, which I believe are flawed and not applicable in many ways, at a later time.

Take care and thank you for your post.
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I suppose I look at many threads started and immediately go on the defensive because I attempt to get to the heart of the question, rather than the typed text. I see many baiting threads here and felt this was one of them.

It comes off as a “my pastor has more training than your pastor” thread based on: the requirements for Catholic priests that you stated and seeking to compare those with other religions that (at least in your mind I think) don’t have that much training.

I don’t require people’s posts or threads to match up with everyone who is posting. My concern is with painting with a broad brush with people or creating a “mine is better than yours” thread. I’ve seen other threads, like “the one true church - if you only studied history and the Bible you would find the Catholic Church to be the one true one” to be superficial and baiting.

If your intentions are different, then I publicly apologize for the assumptions.

Peace…

MW
 
My question “presupposes” one fact and that is that there are Christian religions where there are no educational requirements, at al
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Typically, such churches are descendants of the American Restoration Movement.

They may not have formal academic requirements, but the scriptural requirements can be severe. (How much of the Bible can you quote? You can only quote the entire New Testament, and Mosaic books. You don’t know the Bible well enough to qualify for the post.)

xan

jonathon
 
Jimmy_B said:
Does it matter how much education your religious leader has? I think it does (I am a Roman Catholic).
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Formal, ie RA, TRACS, DETC, AHBE, ATS accredited?
No, not to me. I have heard men of God with a GED and men of God with DMin hanging in their office.
Our church was started by a man prior to his finishing a RA masters program. It did not matter to me.
 
Protestants come in all sizes and shapes. Most mainline Protestant denominations (Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopal, etc.) require a college degree and then a Master’s from some accredited seminary. That means seven or more years of college.
Code: 
However, many of the more fundamentalist groups focus more upon 'the call' than formal education. Most of them do attend a Bible college somewhere. Their idea is that a 'call from God' takes precedence over everything else. 

 Some denominations tightened up their requirements over the years. Early Methodist circuit riders, for example, often had limited education but plenty of zeal, conviction and Biblical knowledge. Methodism established many colleges in the USA - several hundred - and many of them have had theological seminaries attached, such as Duke, Boston University, Emory, etc. Apart from public universities, the large majority of US colleges were founded by various Protestant groups, starting with Harvard, Princeton and Yale.
 
Jesus may have chosen uneducated men to be his students. But he was a teacher and listening to him would have been the best way to get a formal education at the time. Given this example, I would think that education would be a major issue for the clergy. (Please insert the ususal disclaimers here so that it is clear that my comment is based on an assumption for the sake of argument).
 
Mystic_Warrior said:
I suppose I look at many threads started and immediately go on the defensive because I attempt to get to the heart of the question, rather than the typed text. I see many baiting threads here and felt this was one of them.

It comes off as a “my pastor has more training than your pastor” thread based on: the requirements for Catholic priests that you stated and seeking to compare those with other religions that (at least in your mind I think) don’t have that much training.

I don’t require people’s posts or threads to match up with everyone who is posting. My concern is with painting with a broad brush with people or creating a “mine is better than yours” thread. I’ve seen other threads, like “the one true church - if you only studied history and the Bible you would find the Catholic Church to be the one true one” to be superficial and baiting.

If your intentions are different, then I publicly apologize for the assumptions.

Peace…

MW
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Mystic Warrior,

Thank you, but there is no need to apologize, there is some truth to what you say.

We all have are own bias’ and mine is obviously with the Roman Catholic Church and yours are not and that’s ok, that is between you and God.

However, I do like a “lively discussion” and I think most here do, or they wouldn’t keep coming back. I also like defending my faith.

So you are correct, I do from time –to-time, I guess “bait”, but I am not usually thinking about that at the time, I think you give me way too much credit.

I am usually just trying to get the ball rolling. This thread was well intended.

Everything I do here is usually well intended, even though at times you “Protestants” (with some of the anti-Catholic remarks I see here) aggravate and frustrate me, I try to be nice.

I guess when I responded to you, I wasn’t feeling very charitable towards my Protestant “friends”, as I should have been.

Thanks for the heads-up, and even though I complain at times, I do actually read and think about the posts directed to me, I am no a “hit and run” poster.

I will try to get back on topic in my next posting here.

God bless,

Jimmy
 
I have read that it takes 7-9 or 10 years of formal education to be a Roman Catholic Priest, or 5-6 years of school after receiving a basic degree, please correct me if I am wrong.
Click to expand...
I was a seminarian in the SVD Congregation.
I think, for Roman Catholic sometimes it depends on the congregation(Religious or Diocesan), but every congregation must comply with the requirements/standards given by Rome.
For example, in SVD Congregation(Philippines):

1 year: Pre-College/Aspirancy
4 years: AB Philosophy/Others
1 year: Regency
4 years: Theology
2 years: Regency
1 1/2 year: Diaconate
Priesthood! [13 1/2 years]

Diocesan Priests[Phils.]
1 year: Pre-College/Aspirancy
4 years: AB Philosophy/Others
1 year: Regency
4 years: Theology
1 year: Regency
6 months: Diaconate
Priesthood! [11 1/2 years]

This info may lack but not excess
 
Jimmy_B said:
Mystic Warrior,

Thank you, but there is no need to apologize, there is some truth to what you say.

We all have are own bias’ and mine is obviously with the Roman Catholic Church and yours are not and that’s ok, that is between you and God.

However, I do like a “lively discussion” and I think most here do, or they wouldn’t keep coming back. I also like defending my faith.

So you are correct, I do from time –to-time, I guess “bait”, but I am not usually thinking about that at the time, I think you give me way too much credit.

I am usually just trying to get the ball rolling. This thread was well intended.

Everything I do here is usually well intended, even though at times you “Protestants” (with some of the anti-Catholic remarks I see here) aggravate and frustrate me, I try to be nice.

I guess when I responded to you, I wasn’t feeling very charitable towards my Protestant “friends”, as I should have been.

Thanks for the heads-up, and even though I complain at times, I do actually read and think about the posts directed to me, I am no a “hit and run” poster.

I will try to get back on topic in my next posting here.

God bless,

Jimmy
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I’m glad your intentions were in the right place. Defense of faith is a good thing. Without protestants on the board you would have nothing to defend 😃

I can say with certainty that I’m not anti-Catholic. I almost went through RCIA but didn’t due to family reasons (long story). I respect Catholicism and admire the faith greatly. His Holiness Pope John Paul 2 is one of my favorite people in the world. I loved the man (and still do).

I just think that many times instead of bringing the Christian faith together we inadvertently tear it apart. And I find that sad. I love my Catholic friends and have great respect for them. I’ve found many wonderful friends here and the feeling is mutual.

I wish you peace and blessings from the Lord.

Peace…

MW
 
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