The Licentiate in Theology or (in Britain) Licence in Theology (LTh or, in Australia, ThL) is a non-degree qualification in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

awarded in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and previously awarded in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. A qualification similar to the LTh is the two-year postgraduate

Licentiate of Sacred Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Licentiatus; abbreviated STL) is the second of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the first being the Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theol ...

(STL), available from

pontifical universities A pontifical university is an ecclesiastical university established or approved directly by the Holy See, composed of three main ecclesiastical faculties (Theology, Philosophy and Canon Law) and at least one other faculty. These academic institute ...

United Kingdom

The Licence in Theology was one of two courses (the other being the Bachelor of Arts degree course) offered by

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

at its opening in 1833 and was first awarded in 1834. It required both the passing of an academic examination and a testimonial to the candidate's moral character. The course initially had a standard length of two years, reduced to one for graduates of Oxford and Cambridge (and, soon after, for Durham graduates); this was raised to three years for 1841–1846, but this led to a serious fall in numbers and it returned to two years from 1846. It ran in a variety of different forms, including being offered with

honours Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

for a period from 1864 to 1907 (when the honours course in theology leading to a BA was established). At the same time, the LTh was opened to students at Anglican theological colleges affiliated to Durham without the need for residence at the university (after passing the LTh they could take a BA following a year in residence at Durham and the passing of the required exams); from 1918, the LTh was only available to students at these

affiliated college An affiliated school (also affiliated college, federated school, federated college or federated university) is an educational institution that operates independently, but also has a formal collaborative agreement with another, usually larger institu ...

s and was not offered at Durham. It was abolished in 1949. The Common Awards validated by Durham and offered to all

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

ordinands Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

since 2014, as well as trainee ministers from the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

and

United Reformed The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

churches, include a variety of degree and non-degree qualifications. However, these follow the naming conventions of the

Framework for Higher Education Qualifications The national qualification frameworks in the United Kingdom are qualifications frameworks that define and link the levels and credit values of different qualifications. The current frameworks are: * The Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) for ...

and do not include a licence in theology. St David's College, Lampeter awarded a Licence in Divinity (LD) from 1884 to c. 1940. The LTh, introduced in 1971, was intended for graduate

, and was equivalent to the final year of a bachelor's degree. The course is still offered by the

University of Wales, Trinity Saint David , image = Crest of TSD.png , image_size = 200px , caption = Coat of armsUniversity of Wales Trinity Saint David , established = 2010 (Saint David's College, Lampeter founded 1822 and opened 1827; royal charter 1828) , ...

, the successor institution of St David's College, but is now the '' Graduate Diploma in Bible and Theology'' in keeping with the

St John's College, Nottingham St John's College, Nottingham, founded as the London College of Divinity, was an Anglican and interdenominational theological college situated in Bramcote, Nottingham, England. The college stood in the open evangelical tradition and stated that i ...

, previously the London College of Divinity, replaced its Associate of the London College of Divinity diploma with a License in Theology diploma when it relocated to Nottingham in 1971. The college closed in 2019. The

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

offered a Licence in Theology until 2002, when it was withdrawn due to the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

deciding to no longer recognise the degree.

Australia

The

Australian College of Theology The Australian College of Theology (ACT) is an Australian higher education provider based in Sydney, New South Wales. The college delivers awards in ministry and theology and was one of the first Australian non-university providers to offer an ...

offered a Licentiate in Theology from its opening in 1891, originally as a qualification only for ordained clergy. Until the 1970s, most Australian theological colleges were not associated with universities and thus offered non-degree programmes such as the Licentiate in Theology.

New Zealand

the diploma of Licentiate in Theology was offered by St John's College, Auckland from 1951. The course was transferred to the

Ecumenical Institute for Distance Theological Studies The Ecumenical Institute for Distance Theological Studies (EIDTS) was a Christian theological college located in New Zealand. History and Closure The Ecumenical Institute for Distance Theological Studies was established in 1993. It was to rep ...

when it opened in 1993, where it was offered until the institute closed in 2015.

Canada

In Canada, Licentiates in Theology are offered by

Huron University College Huron University College is a university college affiliated with the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. Huron was incorporated on 5 May 1863 and the founding institution of the University of Western Ontario. It was est ...

, the

College of Emmanuel and St. Chad University of Saskatchewan has over 200 academic programs on its Saskatoon, Saskatchewan campus, and is internationally known for its teaching and research. The on-campus synchrotron Canadian Light Source makes it the only Canadian institutio ...

Trinity College, Toronto Trinity College (occasionally referred to as The University of Trinity College) is a college federated with the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Strachan originally intended Trinity as a university of strong Angl ...

, and the

Montreal Diocesan Theological College Montreal Diocesan Theological College (known as Montreal Dio) is a theological seminary of the Anglican Church of Canada. It offers the Master of Divinity, Diploma in Ministry, Bachelor of Theology, and Master of Sacred Theology (S.T.M.) to candida ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Licentiate of Theology Religious degrees

United Kingdom

Australia

New Zealand

Canada

See also

References