Religious Education Major

Why Religious Education?
In keeping with the mission of the University, the purposes of the School of Religion and Philosophy are:

  • Provide education in religion and philosophy for all students
  • Provide theological education and training for students interested in ministry
  • Provide services to persons, churches, and denominational entities.

Religious Education includes academic studies in the administration of the church’s leadership and educational program, church and denominational activities, and other educationally related ministries. Course offerings are designed to meet the needs of students by providing (1) survey courses in Bible, administration, and church and denominational activities; (2) a carefully planned curriculum of pre-seminary training in religious education; and (3) preparation for those in religious education, missions, and youth ministries whose Wayland degree will be their formal training.

Goals:

  1. Students will qualify for advanced standing graduate degree programs in accredited seminaries or admission into theological graduate programs.
  2. Students will demonstrate competency in the theological, historical, biblical, and practical areas of Christian studies.
  3. Students will articulate clearly their personal faith in relation to historic Christian beliefs and practices.
  4. Students will demonstrate skills in critical thinking, analysis, and expression.
  5. Students will demonstrate an awareness of the historical Christian disciplines that produce a growing Christlike character.

Careers in Religious Education
By supplementing a major in Religious Education with one of the following minors, one may prepare for careers in:

  1. Religious print media, radio, television – minor: Mass Communications
  2. Religious writing – minor: English
  3. Family and personal counseling in a Christian ministry context – minor (or preferably, major): Psychology
  4. Christian recreation – minor: Exercise and Sport Science
  5. Music ministry – minor: Church Music
  6. Religious dramatic ministry – minor: Speech and Theatre
  7. Christian social ministries – minor: Sociology
  8. Ethnic ministries – minor: Spanish or German
  9. Christian schools – minor: Education
  10. Religious art – minor: Art
  11. Bi-vocational ministries – minor: Career and Technology Education

Religious Education Requirements
The major requires a minimum of 33 semester hours of school courses, with a core of 15 semester hours. The core includes courses that are basic for all students in ministry. In addition, these courses help students to qualify for advanced standing graduate seminary degree programs.

The core courses required in the Religious Education major are as follows:
RLGN 0001 – Theological Research and Writing Lab
*RLGN 1301 – Old Testament History
*RLGN 1302 – New Testament History
RLGN 4302 – Christian Theology
RLGN 4314 – Biblical Interpretation
RLED 4315 – The Christian Ministry

* Six hours are included in the general education core curriculum.

Students should select from one of the following three specializations for the Religious Education major:

General Religious Education
Youth Ministry
Education Ministry

Requirements for Pre-Seminary Students:
All students preparing to attend seminary and seeking eligibility to qualify for certain advanced standing graduate degree programs must take a major in Religion or Religious Education and take:

GREK 1301 – Elementary Greek
GREK 1302 – Elementary Greek
GREK 2301 – Intermediate Greek
GREK 2302 – Intermediate Greek