It seems that the theology degree that Huckabee likes to claim that he has does not exist. Apparently, he now claims that his bachelor of arts in religion is a theological degree.
Now, that seems to make as much sense as a candidate who claimed to have a medical degree admitting that what he really has is an undergraduate degree in biology and some credits in medical school (from which he dropping out) and then saying he still really does have a medical degree.
What should the consequences for Huckabee’s false claim be?
I don’t think that’s an analogous claim at all. A biology degree is a far cry from a medical degree, especially since few biologists are also medical practitioners. In contrast, Huckabee says that his studies focused on theological studies, including New Testament studies. It’s just that “theology” wasn’t the title of the degree itself.
We might argue about semantics, but this hardly seems as egregiously wrong as passing a BS in Biology off as a medical degree.
FYI, you will be expected to provide links for quotes, especially ones in your OP. Here’s one. Note that this story is a month old, prior to the Iowa caucus and the NH primary. I’d say much ado about nothing.
Also, is a “theology” degree always at the post-graduate level? If not, your medical school analogy isn’t a good one.
“Religion” is much too broad a field of study at the undergaduate level to qualify as a theology degree, though. Theology is a specifific subset of religious studies. I have a BA in Religion. I would never say that I have a theology degree, even though I took some theology classes.
Having said that, I don’t think this story is very important. Huckabee apparently has some seminary credits which would have a much more specific focus on theology. His statement was technically not accurate but his total academic experience is close enough to what he claimed that it doesn’t much matter.
Is there really such a distinction? The web site you linked describes a Bachelor of Science in Religion degree under the heading “Bachelor’s Degrees in Theology.”
Speaking as someone who has a Religion degree, there is definitely a difference. Religion is a broad study of religion as a historical and social phenomenon. Theology is a specific study of specific doctrinal beliefs about a specific God or gods.
If this election turns in the slightest on his qualifications in either of these areas, we’re in worse shape than I thought. In any case, while you can’t practice medicine with a biology degree, it looks like you can be a pastor with whatever degree Huck had. For some reason I had thought he finished his Masters, but I don’t think he would be more qualified to be president even if he had.
This would be about 200th on my list of reasons not to vote for him.
I agree completely with Diogenes the Cynic. I too have a BA in Religion and about as many credits toward a post-grad Theology degree as Huck has. I would never say I have a Theology degree based just on my BA. Between that and my seminary studies, though, I’d consider it a white lie in most situations if I did claim to have one. Of course, if I were running for a major office, I’d probably just finish the damn degree to avoid the whole issue!
Speaking as someone with bachelor degrees in both theology and religion, I would find it completely impossible to think that there’s anything to see here - unless he was claiming a masters or doctoral level degree. If he has a B.A. in religion including a pile of theology classes, casually calling the B.A. “a theology degree” is completely innocuous. Various colleges are going to offer theology degrees at various different levels. This isn’t at all like calling an undergraduate biology degree a medical degree (which implies having gone to med school, a very different proposition). It’s more like calling a B.A. in History “a degree in ancient Roman history” based on the focus of the actual classes you took.
If he were applying for an academic position, this would kill his prospects for being hired. But in the world of Presidential politics, this distinction will strike most people as pretty trivial.
Hell, it strikes me as trivial, and I’m an ex-academic.
The problem with Huck is that he’s a weird combination of ignorant and batshit crazy, not that he passed off a Bachelor’s in Religion as a theology degree. Of course, most of the GOP field has that pair of afflictions.
Other than personal gratification, I think their only real value is that they lay groundwork for more advanced degrees. At a more advanced level, they provide credentials for those seeking the clergy or those seeking to teach.
Their relevance to being President, in my opinion, is nil, except for whatever political appeal it might have.
At the Anglican seminary where I roomed, they offered two degrees as a preparation for ordination: a Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.) for those who did not have a previous university degrees, and a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) for those who did have a previous degree. Much of the course work was the same, as far as I could tell, but the students in the B.Th. program had to take some classes from the affiliate university (often English or History), to round out their
basic knowledge. I think the M.Div. students had to do some sort of a thesis.
Getting back to the OP, I think the relevant factor here is that Mr. Huckabee’s church evidently considered his training sufficient to accept him as a pastor. That suggests that the focus on his religion studies was mainly Christian, not other religions. Seems to me that if his church didn’t see much difference between a B.A. in religion and a theology degree, shouldn’t matter much to anyone else.
