Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses in philosophy, religion, and theology. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Instructing
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Learning Strategies
- Active Learning
Key knowledge
- Philosophy and Theology
- English Language
- Education and Training
- History and Archeology
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Law and Government
- Computers and Electronics
- Communications and Media
What the work involves
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
- Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Investigative, Artistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Doctoral Degree (73.8% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (29.6%)
- On-the-job training
- None or short demonstration (63.2%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Lower on contact with others than 57% of occupations compared | 51% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 82% of occupations compared | 32% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 92% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 88% of occupations compared | 73% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 68% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 82% of occupations compared | 55% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 80% of occupations compared | 59% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Low | Lower on consequence of error than 77% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
- Consequence of error: low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 9.28%
- Contact with others most of the time: 51.38%
- Constant contact with others: 39.34%
n = 33, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 32.2%
- Fairly important: 25.08%
- Important: 23.57%
- Very important: 3.19%
- Extremely important: 15.97%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2019
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 10.61%
- Fairly important: 21.76%
- Important: 4.12%
- Very important: 41.98%
- Extremely important: 21.54%
n = 33, Incumbent 08/2019
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 10.78%
- Some freedom: 16.49%
- A lot of freedom: 72.73%
n = 33, Incumbent 08/2019
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 10.87%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 36.28%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 30.4%
- Every day: 22.45%
n = 33, Incumbent 08/2019
Conflict situations
- Never: 7.06%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 54.51%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 35.97%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 2.47%
- Every day: 0%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 7.06%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 59.45%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 29.89%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 3.6%
- Every day: 0%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2019
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 42.73%
- Fairly serious: 6.24%
- Serious: 23.17%
- Very serious: 23.43%
- Extremely serious: 4.43%
n = 33, Incumbent 08/2019
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O*NET-SOC 25-1126.00 · SOC 25-1126 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8