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To teach theology effectively, one must understand the subject, make it understandable to students, be organized, passionate, and unbiased. The teacher should know what type of theology to teach, structure the course accordingly, and relate it to students’ knowledge. The teacher should understand and articulate the subject, arouse interest, and enable discussion. The teacher should remain open-minded and objective, allowing students to form their own opinions.
The best tips for teaching theology are to understand the subject, know how to make it understandable to students, and be highly organized. Additionally, the teacher must have a passion for engaging students and a desire to encourage them to learn on their own. Theology is sometimes a controversial subject and must be taught with a fair hand and without bias for or against a particular perspective.
Theology, in its most basic form, studies the nature of God. In Western thought, it is most closely related to Judeo-Christian-Islamic versions of God, but can also be applied to the study of how other religions see and worship their God or their Gods. The first piece of advice for teaching theology is to know exactly what is to be taught. This means knowing whether a course should be designed to teach students about a particular church, a particular religion, or to provide an overview of major world religions.
The type or types of theology taught will influence the structure of the course. A general course should touch lightly on each major religion. These courses tend to be broken down into religion and then broken down into sections like history and then major elements of religion. A course that teaches only one religion can afford to break it down into thematic elements, although they will need to look at how each church or sect views the element. A course teaching only one church, for example, Methodist theology, will examine each element of the theology in detail without having to pay attention to interpretations from outside the church.
Theology teachers should know students well. This means relating the course to the students’ assumed and verified knowledge. A middle school or high school theology course will mean teaching theology in its most basic form. Teaching theology to college or university students means that the teacher is better able to skip over basic concepts and focus on the details. Teaching older students means the teacher can worry less about entertaining the students.
Regardless of the knowledge level of the students, theology is a dense subject. This means that it is essential that the teacher understand what she is teaching. Most higher institutions employ people who have studied theology. Other schools may not have this luxury, so it’s up to the teacher to wrap their head around the subject and understand concepts and topics regarding salvation, the nature of God, the sacraments, and what happens during the Eucharist, for example.
In addition to understanding it, the teacher must be able to make the students understand the subject as well. Teaching theology is about giving information to students and then helping them interpret and evaluate it, but it is also about arousing an interest in the subject. This means that teachers must be able to articulate theology in an understandable and engaging way.
Learning theology is a matter of faith and interest. Some students who have chosen to study theology will do so because they want to learn, and many will have preconceived opinions about certain areas. Enable students to discuss elements of theology. The teacher can introduce a certain topic, then open it up for discussion, or the teacher can ask a question such as “Are the bread and wine transformed into the body and blood of Christ during the Eucharist?” and then provide official interpretations of that question after or during the discussion to provoke reactions.
An important tip for teaching theology is for the teacher to remain open-minded. It is important that students are able to form their own opinions. Lectures and assessments should examine understanding, but should also give students the opportunity to express their views on the subject. It is not a good idea for a teacher to compare a student’s opinion with his own opinions on the subject and the teacher should, therefore, try to be as objective as possible.
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