Programs in theology focus on the beliefs of a religious faith. Students learn how to apply their beliefs to their lives. In pre-theology programs, students learn literature, history, arts, and social science.

In the Middle Ages, theology was known as "The Queen of the Sciences." The study of religious belief and doctrine can still lead you on a lifelong quest for knowledge. You can study it from several angles. Natural theology is what we can know about God by viewing creation. Revealed theology is what we can know from Scripture. Historical theology is what has been believed in times past. Biblical theology pays particular attention to the teachings of individual authors and sections. Systematic theology looks at how the whole Bible instructs us about any issue that we face today.

As you study these various aspects of theology, you consider philosophical questions about them. For example, when you study revealed theology, you ask questions such as these: What is revelation? How much does revelation apply to its own time and place? How much is universal? Who is qualified to interpret revelation? In the case of prophecy, how do we decide when it has been fulfilled?

Theology may not be widely regarded as a science nowadays, but to learn it you must do research. Even at the undergraduate level, programs in this field often end with a research project that results in your writing a thesis. For answers to questions such as those listed above, you look at what your own faith tradition has suggested. You also look at ideas from other traditions. You discover that people have been asking these same questions for centuries, and often they have come up with very different answers.

You may want to study theology as an undergraduate. Over 200 colleges offer a bachelor's degree program in this field. This usually requires four years of full-time study beyond high school. This program can give you a lot of personal satisfaction by helping you understand your religion better. Or you may use the thinking skills you develop as a stepping-stone to further education; for example, you might go on to law school or business school. This program is not normally recommended as preparation for the ministry or priesthood. (An exception might be in a denomination that does not require seminary for ordination.) The usual preparation for seminary is exposure to a broad mixture of liberal arts and sciences. (Sometimes a program of this sort is called "pre-theology." The term is also used for a one- or two-year transition-to-seminary program offered at many Roman Catholic seminaries.)

Another way to study theology is after getting your bachelor's degree. Nearly 300 schools offer a master's degree in theology. These are mostly seminaries, but some graduate schools also offer it. If your goal is simply personal fulfillment, you may study it in graduate school or in those seminaries where you can study it without seeking ordination into the clergy. This program usually takes two years. In some seminaries you can earn a master's in theology as part of the three-year program that leads to ordination.