Study theology or psychology? (is a secular job Christian?)

[SFG]

Good day dear readers,

I’m currently doing my bachelor’s in psychology. When I started I was already considering theology, but because I wasn’t raised Christian and was only starting to come to faith at that point, I decided to choose psychology.
Now there’s the opportunity to do a master’s in theology after finishing my bachelor’s. These masters aren’t real classical theology masters, however. There’s Theology & Society, Spiritual Care (for people dying, in prison or in the army) or a one-year master in Theology in which one can pick their own favorite courses.

The problem with these theology master’s is that job opportunities are poor, especially in the rather rural area where I live. (Yes, a lot worse than psychology even.)

Now, my question really boils down to the following: I feel like it’s not really any good helping people with their day-to-day struggles when I can’t point them to Christ. I know our Lord Jesus said that it’s good to help the poor and the sick. But I feel like it’s way more important to proclaim the Kingdom. Am I looking at things wrong here? Would it be bad if I just do a master’s in human resources or health psychology and help people with their lives, whilst having a greater chance of having a proper job with which I will be able to take care of my wife and kids (preferably four, so I will need some money)? It feels like it, it feels as if a Christian is supposed to live fully for God (meaning there’s no place having a secular job).

I’ve prayed about it but it remains hard to figure out how to live my life according to God’s plan.

Please share your thoughts, last time you really helped me out.

Kind regards,

S.

 

[Salibi]

It feels like it, it feels as if a Christian is supposed to live fully for God (meaning there’s no place having a secular job).

Wherever did you get this notion? Do you think people who are devout Catholics only have jobs in the Church?

Make your own choice, just know that it’s not necessary or more holy to have a non-secular job.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

It feels like it, it feels as if a Christian is supposed to live fully for God (meaning there’s no place having a secular job).

There are thousands of saints who had secular jobs, as doctors, lawyers, farmers, lacemakers, teachers, housekeepers, craftsmen, nurses, soldiers, shepherds, government officials, manual laborers, lots of other things.

Not everybody is called to the clergy, the religious life, or some spiritual study/counseling job.

If you plan to be the father of a family, you need a job to support your family.
St. Joseph himself, the model for fathers, had a secular job as a carpenter.
That alone should settle your concerns.

 

[phil19034]

There is ZERO reason why you cannot work in a secular field. We laity are called to be a light in our communities and workplaces.

You don’t have to have a degree in theology to do that.

God Bless and Godspeed

 

[Angel_Bradford]

I am a police officer with a master’s in Theology.

 

[Irishmom2]

I feel like it’s not really any good helping people with their day-to-day struggles when I can’t point them to Christ

What makes you think you couldn’t do that? You would be doing that if you allow yourself to have your Christianity guide you in helping people. Haven’t you heard of Christian counselors? Catholic counselors?

 

[Convert3]

There are many ways to serve our Lord. Don’t fear having a secular job to take care of your family. You can also serve your parish, or help in many other ways, either as a profession or as side work. In my case, in the military I was involved in search and rescue and impacted the lives of many. In my civilian work, one of my jobs was supporting IT applications for health and safety in the workplace. I believed I was serving my Lord and caring for my family. Now retired, I serve in other ways at my parish and supporting charities as I can. Find your path and you’ll find a way to serve.

 

[do_justly_love_mercy]

because I wasn’t raised Christian and was only starting to come to faith at that point, I decided to choose psychology.

There are many people who were raised Christians who did not study theology at university. In fact, most people raised as Christians do not take degrees in theology. Conversely, there are many people who have no religious beliefs who study theology purely out of academic interest.

I feel like it’s not really any good helping people with their day-to-day struggles when I can’t point them to Christ.

Many of the most important jobs involve helping people with their everyday problems: doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, pharmacists, police officers, prison officers, probation officers, social workers, lawyers, firefighters, teachers, librarians, people who serve in the armed forces, for example. Christians can even be politicians: Margaret Thatcher, Jimmy Carter, Lech Wałęsa, and António Guterres, to give four very different theological and political examples.

I feel like it’s way more important to proclaim the Kingdom.

Very few people are called to be evangelists as their full-time job. Even the clergy and religious do not spend all their time evangelizing in the way that you seem to imagine. For much of the time they are bearing witness to Jesus through their pastoral work or jobs in education or healthcare. This can often be a more effective way of “pointing people to Christ” or “proclaiming the kingdom” than evangelizing in more obvious ways.

If every Christian had to evangelize full time, who would do all the other jobs that need doing? Until the early part of the 20th century, when almost everybody in the western world would have been a Christian, most jobs were done by Christians. As well as doing jobs that help people in more immediate ways, Christians can also use their abilities to create wealth and jobs. For example, did you know that Asa Griggs Candler, the found of Coca-Cola, was a Methodist? He gave away much of his wealth to hospitals, schools, and universities, and invested his personal money in developing infrastructure when he served as mayor of Atlanta. In Britain, the chocolate manufacturers Cadbury’s, Fry’s, and Rowntree’s were all founded by Quakers.

Would it be bad if I just do a master’s in human resources or health psychology and help people with their lives

Not at all. Those are important jobs and somebody has to do them.

it feels as if a Christian is supposed to live fully for God (meaning there’s no place having a secular job).

I think you are getting confused about what “living fully for God” means for most people. It doesn’t mean that you have to have a theology degree or in some way work as a professional Christian. It would hardly be feasible for Christians to be prohibited from doing ordinary jobs and having families.

 

[AltarSoldier]

I work in healthcare and I think its the best field to offer to God since you are serving and taking care of your neighbor in their most dire time of need or when they are most vulnerable.

Youre looking about it wrong. Take the words of Mother Teresa

"Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God’s gift of Himself.
Ask and seek and you heart will grow big enough to receive Him and to keep Him as your own. Wherever God has put you, that is your vocation.
It is not what we do but how much love we put into it."

 

[Mary888]

It could be a private revelation of yours. We can only offer prayers for you to discern well. Generally speaking others have said it better before me. It’s not a problem that you have a secular job. But if you truly feel like you should study theology instead of something else it could be your own private discussion with God and we can’t possibly help you here except by offering prayers.

 

[SFG]

Thank you all for your replies.
This forum has already helped me more than I expected. I’ve been talking about your replies with a few people, and we all agree with you, just like all of you agree with each other. It seems to be the truth.
However, oftentimes one knows something without this sense of deeper knowledge ‘feel-knowing’.

I’ll try to put this feeling into words. It feels like yes, one can be a farmer or a soldier. And yes, these are very important jobs. But (and perhaps this is only because I’m an enthousiastic recent convert,) why would one choose to be an IT-call center agent when we have been given a life with which much more can be done. There are people going to hell every minute I’m afraid. For eternity. Eternity lasts longer than every single human lifespan combined. It’s unbelievable. Shouldn’t we therefore use this life to plant more seeds? Let God’s grace work through us to save souls? This thought somehow makes me feel like we should be called to radical action.

Now I’m back where I was when I started with this topic I suppose. I’ve tried to elaborate a bit more, but I ended up backspacing those attempts.

Now you might answer that God’s grace saves. It’s all up to Him. Maybe it might be more useful to pray for the world instead of running around preaching I don’t know. Please tell me again when my way of looking is false. I’d be very grateful for that.
But where I’m at now, I feel like this man is very admirable in God’s eyes:

Thanks again for your help!

 

[vsedriver]

why would one choose to be an IT-call center agent when we have been given a life with which much more can be done.

we are all given different gifts and different talents. Even an IT call center agent can save more souls than some priests. It’s not the job, it’s the attitude and the behavior.

 

[SFG]

Just a note: I did not want to sound disrespectful towards the IT branche.

I’m glad I’m back before anyone posted. I need to clarify my last post a little bit: I don’t mean that everyone should study theology or become a priest. If one is into rap, one can make Christian rap. If one is a nurse, one can tell the sick about Jesus. If one good with children one could be a teacher and spread the news. If one is academically minded one can be like CS Lewis or Brant Pitre.
I see that psychology is not more or less Christian than theology in a sense.
But I think I finally found the issue I’m struggling with: isn’t it true that most Catholics (and Christians) are lukewarm?

Thanks again to you all for your answers. One can go ‘all in’ for God without studying theology. But are we actually supposed to go all in? Am I wrong to critisize almost every single human being including myself, for not striving maximally toward God and the good?
God is merciful, He probably doesn’t expect the impossible of us. But I’m afraid we will not make it to heaven, and take a lot of people down with us if we don’t do our best. Is this an error in my thought as well?

 

[AlbMagno]

Have you considered to become a Consecrated or a member of a Lay Movement?..

By the way, I understand your point. Many times, specially in self-help groups, I want to explain why Christ is usually the answer and confort to my problems, but I cannot because of the secular environment.

I think we should get more courage to preach in conversations, however. With psychology it’s a bit different, because your patient may not want to be evangelized.

 

[Pattylt]

I’d like to emphasize this great post! If you feel that you are called to evangelize within whatever job you do, then please stick to a Christian specific job…like being a Catholic Psychology clinician NOT a secular psychology clinician. Secular jobs should not be evangelizing by any way other than letting your good behavior and excellent skills being a light to others.

The expectation of any secular job is that the job will be performed without religion being a part of it. If I searched for a counselor and he/she was listed as being a Catholic counselor, I would expect good Catholic counseling. If I search for a secular counselor and they tried to lead me to Jesus, I’d be reporting them for crossing a line that should not be crossed.

If you feel called to be a counselor and wish to focus on Catholic counseling, I think you could be every bit as successful as a secular counselor. I’ve often heard CAFers bemoaning the lack of good Catholic counseling in their area. There are needs out there to be met!

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I’m glad I’m back before anyone posted. I need to clarify my last post a little bit: I don’t mean that everyone should study theology or become a priest. If one is into rap, one can make Christian rap. If one is a nurse, one can tell the sick about Jesus. If one good with children one could be a teacher and spread the news. If one is academically minded one can be like CS Lewis or Brant Pitre.
I see that psychology is not more or less Christian than theology in a sense.
But I think I finally found the issue I’m struggling with: isn’t it true that most Catholics (and Christians) are lukewarm?

No. You’re going down a wrong line of thinking here.

First of all, if you personally are called to preach, or evangelize by talking to people in some way, then fine. Maybe that’s your call. Perhaps you would make a good theologian, apologist, retreat leader, Catholic counselor, etc. Just be careful you don’t get into any job where the rules/ ethics of your work would restrict you from evangelizing to people, and you’re golden. You might love the work, you might be really skilled at it and cut out for it.

However, you should NOT go around even thinking, much less saying, that

• everyone should want to go around evangelizing in the way you do; and/or
• evangelizing in the way you want to do is the greatest, best and highest calling there is; and/or
• everybody else who isn’t doing this evangelization daily is probably lukewarm or is failing in some way to carry out God’s wishes; and/or
• that your way of evangelizing is always the best way; and/or
• that you are somehow special because you’re evangelizing while someone else is working the IT call center.

Every day on this forum we see people who have found a way to do their Catholicism that works really well, FOR THEM, whether it’s evangelizing, or charismatic movement, or praying the Divine Office, or covering their head at church, or attending Traditional Latin Mass, or getting involved in some lay apostolate. This is all fine. The problem is when they think/ imply that everybody else should be doing the same things they themselves are doing, and that if the other person says, “Thanks, that’s not my speed, I’ll keep doing what I do” then the other person is somehow lukewarm, less reverent, not being all that they can be, etc.

Don’t fall into that trap. First, it’s verging on, if not smack in the middle of, the sin of pride. Second, it’s likely to work against your wish to evangelize because it’s just going to make you seem really annoying. Third, it’s disrespectful because you’re not understanding or respecting the MANY ways people can and do evangelize daily without all needing to be preachers or communicators etc.

(Continued next post due to char limit)

 

[Tis_Bearself]

…Loving and caring for your family is evangelizing to them and to others who see how you behave with your family. If that means you have to work a job that’s not the most dynamic or exciting one in the world, in order to look after your family, then it’s really inappropriate for somebody who’s felt called to preach walking in and implying that the Family Man or Family Woman is somehow lukewarm or not doing God’s work.

Plenty of us get to evangelize a little bit to our friends and co-workers in the course of our secular life. The people I know would not respond well to somebody getting on their soapbox and giving a 10 minute speech about how great God is. They do respond well to a joky remark that sparks a discussion about God, or to somebody answering their question or having a discussion about some religious point. I have had people who I wouldn’t have thought cared about religion message me because someone in their family died and they were worried about their soul, or because they just wanted to understand more about some faith issue. I don’t go chasing after people, they come to me. Sometimes at really weird times like when we’re having beers in a bar.

And it’s not necessary to be making a conscious effort to be like CS Lewis or be a teacher or any of that. You could evangelize while you were chipping out coal in a coal mine, or sweeping the street, or writing books and papers that had no religious overtones.

I understand the Salesians, who follow the model of St. Francis de Sales, have strict limits on when they evangelize to people. Most of the time they just focus on serving someone’s needs. If they’re asked a question they will answer. If they do something to help someone, and the person says, “Why did you do that for me,” they will explain about God. There’s one or two other situations when they bring it up also. Now obviously this is a different approach from some other evangelists and religious orders, and I’m not saying one way is better or worse, but just be aware there are a variety of ways out there, and you wanting to work at a job spreading the Good News does not mean other people are necessarily “lukewarm” or not evangelizing in their own ways.

Your way may be the way you’re called to do it. It’s not the only way, and it’s not better than other people’s ways.

 

[Chistian-ity]

It feels like it, it feels as if a Christian is supposed to live fully for God (meaning there’s no place having a secular job).

It depends on what God has called you to do. He can call you to be a butcher, a baker, or a candlestick maker. One can live devoutly in any vocation. Truly one who is called to be a lawyer isn’t expected to go to Church for hours each day, that would be neglecting their duty given by God. But it’s all about prioritizing God no matter where you are. And not about not having a secular job. Not everyone needs to be a theologian. So where do you feel God wants you?

 

[Chistian-ity]

Am I wrong to critisize almost every single human being including myself, for not striving maximally toward God and the good?

I mean it is worth being talked about. While you can’t know everything about someone’s private prayer life, you get the feeling that humanity in general is becoming more secular. So you’d be technically right but It’s kind of about what you do about it. Some people would just in a very angry tone complain about it all and about “the liberals” I think it’s more effective to pray for the conversion of the world, repent on behalf of the world, and maybe even evangelize (if that’s your thing) rather than trying to pass judgement on the world like we were God.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

While you can’t know everything about someone’s private prayer life,

This is an important point. Often, the holiest people are not the ones making the biggest noise about religion, especially in the Catholic faith where we’re taught to pray in secret and the Father who sees in secret will reward you.

you get the feeling that humanity in general is becoming more secular.

This is a popular view nowadays, but as discussed on other threads, it’s highly likely humanity hasn’t changed much in 2000 years, and that the only reason people seem more secular now is that they aren’t under societal pressure to cover up their secular immoral behaviors or to go through the motions of Christian religious observance.
Our personal “feelings” are often misleading.
As the above post said, it’s better to just pray for humanity rather than criticize or judge them as a group. Focus on your own faith journey and don’t go judging everybody else.