Why do people, in our day and age, start and continue to study theology at some seminary, school or academic institution?

Let us make some points at the outset. First, the reasons someone has to start studying theology and to continue studying theology may differ. Indeed, perhaps they always do differ to some extent. Second, the reasons someone has to start studying theology or to continue doing so may differ over time. Someone may, for instance, acquire or lose reasons over time to start studying theology at a particular place. Third, the reasons people may have to start or continue studying theology may differ even if they are at, or want to go to, the same school. Fourth, some of the reasons someone has to start studying theology and to continue doing so might be very particular to them. We should not, perhaps, be very surprised about that. Human beings, for all the commonalities, are unique and have unique lives.

All this does not mean, of course, that the reasons people have for starting and continuing to study theology are never somewhat similar. Those who start and continue to study theology in our time are often motivated by (1) a relatively strong interest in one or more topics dealt with in the study of theology, such as God, Jesus, the Bible and Church history, and a relatively strong desire to know more about this/those topic(s), (2) a desire to be a pastor, missionary or teacher and the belief that studying theology, at least in certain cases, will help them become that and (3) a sense that God does, or might, want them to study theology.

People who start to and/or continue to study theology can have additional and even other reasons for doing so (although there are perhaps very few, if any, that lack a relatively strong interest in theological topics). These reasons might include expectations and desires of parents, a desire to be like someone one admires, a desire for new friends or even a spouse, a desire to be respected by one’s teachers and classmates, a desire to have a degree from a university or a seminary, a desire for power and authority, a desire for credibility, a desire to leave one’s home or one’s home country and even a desire to have a job that pays well (although I have a hunch that in many cases this will not be the primary reason to study theology).

Now, I am concious of the fact that people might take the things just mentioned as the ‘real’ reasons people study theology. I shall tread carefully here. It is possible to be overly suspicious about someone’s motives for studying theology, but it is also possible to be overly idealistic about them. And interestingly, the overly supicious and the overly idealistic may find themselves in agreement about one thing: Someone cannot possibly study theology because they are interested in it. That, I deny. One of the most universal reasons for studying theology, one had by convinced Christians, doubting Christians, former Christians and non-Christians, is a desire to learn and know more about matters dealt with in the study of theology.

People often have multiple reasons for studying theology and often the reasons are not equally lofty or, for that matter, equally lowly. Also, they might not find their reasons equally weighty or be equally conscious of them nor might they be equally forthcoming about them. It is possible that people are more quiet about the reasons just mentioned, but what reasons someone gives for studying theology arguably depends on the circumstances. For example, in a hostile atheistic context people are probably less likely to mention a sense of divine calling even if that is their primary reason for studying theology.