by Michael Chesbro

Created on: June 01, 2007

Religious vs. Academic Degrees. Is there a difference between a "religious degree" and an "academic degree"? Is it important and proper that a school issuing religious and theological based degrees be accredited?

A commonly heard claim from institutions issuing fraudulent, substandard or illegal religious degrees is that there is a difference between a religious and an academic degree, and that the rules that govern academic degrees simply don't apply to the issuance of a religious or theological degree.

The on-line encyclopedia 'Wikipedia' is a continually reviewed updated and reference source which can be edited by anyone. Wikipedia articles offer insight into the general public perception of a topic.

Wikipedia lists the study of divinity as an academic discipline and states that studying divinity usually leads to the awarding of an academic degree, such as Master of Divinity (M.Div. - the most common degree taken before ministry), Doctor of Divinity (D.D.), Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.), or Doctor of Theology (Th.D., Dr. Theol., D.Theol., S.T.D.) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divinity_%28academic_d iscipline%29)

When we look at the Wikipedia entries for Doctor of Theology and Doctor of Divinity we see that they are both defined as "academic degrees:

"Doctor of Theology (in Latin Theologiae Doctor, abbreviated Th.D.) is a terminal academic degree in theology." - (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Theology)

"Doctor of Divinity (D.D., Divinitatis Doctor in Latin) is an advanced academic degree in divinity." - (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Divinity)

DO LEGITIMATE SEMINARIES & DIVINITY SCHOOLS CONSIDER THEIR OWN DEGREES TO BE "ACADEMIC DEGREES"?

But what about acknowledged seminaries, divinity schools and religious based colleges and universities; do they view their own degrees as "academic degrees"? To answer this question we contacted several prestigious seminaries and divinity schools throughout the United States and asked them to answer a couple of basic questions.

1 - Is a "religious / theological degree" an "academic degree"?

2 - Is accreditation important and proper for a seminary or religious based school?

While limitations on space prevent us from listing the full text of every reply to our questions, the reply from the very prestigious Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond reflects the tone of every reply we received:

1.) Yes. Degrees in religion and theology are VERY academic degrees. Many of the best schools in theology (of which BTSR is one)

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