Protestant Theology

Protestant theology is the reflective and scientifically responsible discourse on God from a Protestant perspective. In dialogue with other sciences and adopting their methods, theology explores the meaning of the Christian faith, for example, as part of a society’s culture (theology as the study of culture), as a possibility to understand oneself and the world (theology as a hermeneutic), or as a criterion for the practice of a religious community (theology as a reflection on religious practice).

The church degree program in Protestant Theology represents the first phase in becoming a pastor in a Protestant regional church (Landeskirche) in Germany. Students acquire academic and profession-related knowledge of Christianity as a way to find meaning in life, as a guide for how to lead their lives and find values, and as an influential factor in western culture and society. They also explore the relationship between the underlying conditions for and effects of acts of leading in church and social institutions.

Students can study the same content and finish with a Magister Theologiae degree; in that case, the final examination is taken at the university instead of at a Landeskirche. It is possible to switch at any time from one degree program to the other.

Possible lines of work:

Parish offices/special areas (pastoral work at hospitals, military, church administration, schools, etc.) administrative specialist/coordination functions (adult education centers, church academies, museums, etc.), academia (research management, teaching/research at universities, etc.), editing/clerical functions (publishers, libraries), archives, journalism