Religious Career?

[BabyFang]

I am in my freshman semester right now at a local community college majoring in psychology but thinking of changing to art with a concentration in graphic design. I would really like to study theology and devote my life to it. I don’t feel called to the sisterhood though. Is there any other religious careers out their besides teaching?

 

[puzzleannie]

usually when planning one’s education and career path one first discerns vocation–state in life, married v single, lay vs vowed or ordained religious,
then one discerns one’s work in life–good career counselling in school can help, most colleges offer this
then one finds out what educational qualifications are needed, or other credentials, and pursue them

it is somewhat wasteful to spend time and money to get a specific degree, then ask Hey what can I do with it? so you are quite right to think about this now

first of all, a liberal arts education is or should be the best all around foundation for any career–that would include a major in philosophy or theology as well as any other area like history or literature

usually it is graduate school that more specific study is pursued toward a narrower path of interest, and that credentials for various professions are obtained

“religious” jobs for laity include any and all secular jobs, performed for a diocese or religious institution–accounting, teaching, nursing, risk management, IT, administration and so forth.

they also include specific ministries within the church, diocese, parish, institution–writing, apologetics, teaching religion to children or adults, canon law, applied theology, scripture exegesis, any type of administrative work that requires knowledge of the faith, practice and law of the church.

the best place to go for that kind of guidance would be the theology department of the school you are considering, they should know how their grads are placed, and how they use their degrees

good luck we need more like you. even if you eventually find yourself pursuing a career in the marketplace we are all called to lifelong learning in the faith.

for instance, if you pursue the idea of graphic design, you may work for a Catholic publisher of text or trade books, or online versions of the same, instructional materials and so forth, and to do that properly you would need the theological and doctrinal background to get it right.

 

[Sister_Rose]

I am in my freshman semester right now at a local community college majoring in psychology but thinking of changing to art with a concentration in graphic design. I would really like to study theology and devote my life to it. I don’t feel called to the sisterhood though. Is there any other religious careers out their besides teaching?

Teaching is probably the most common work for someone in Theology, but there are other jobs for which you could use a Theology degree. We have several ethicists at our hospitals. They need a theology, specifically moral theology, background. (I think most of them have at least their masters.) Also those in mission leadership role in Catholic hospitals or healthcare systems often have a theology background. There is youth ministry. Some dioceses or large parishes might have a lay person working on Liturgy planning or the family life office, or other such things. If you like to write, you could look into writing for a catholic newspaper or magazine.

You might want to look at different diocesan websites. Look at the individual offices and see what lay people they employ.

Even if you don’t end up working specifically in a area that requires theology, I’m sure studying theology would be a great help for you spiritually.

 

[BabyFang]

Now the more I start thinking about it the more I feel drawn to sisterhood. But I have no clue on how to find what order is right for me.

 

[Joannm]

Working in Religious Education is the most common thing that women with degrees in theology go into. There is always a need for DREs and Youth Ministers. I started out as a part time director of spirituality in a parish and then went to full time Pastoral Associate. That is what I am now with my dominant areas of ministry being liturgy and adult faith formation and spirituality development. I also teach in our diocesan lay formation program and do liturgical education for the diocese. I have also written a few published articles in the area of liturgy.

Just so you know, working for the Church isn’t going to make you rich, so be prepared to live a very simple life unless you also are married (which I am) and have two incomes. Then again hubby works for the Church too so we both are in the same boat (only he has a pension from his previous career which supplements our incomes…also the kids are all out of college and the mortgage is paid off so we don’t have too many expenses).

I was an art major in college and right now, while I don’t specifically use my artistic talent it does come in handy. I often use art in my power point presentations in courses and I did teach a course on theology and art. I also taught a class on calligraphy using the psalms as inspiration. When I was teaching art I used to use religious themes a lot since it was a Catholic school where I taught.