Community and Social Service · Holland code SEA

Directors, Religious Activities and Education

Coordinate or design programs and conduct outreach to promote the religious education or activities of a denominational group. May provide counseling, guidance, and leadership relative to marital, health, financial, and religious problems.

Also called: Children's Ministries Director, Christian Education Director, Religious Education Director, Youth Pastor, Adult Ministries Director, Campus Ministries Director, Religious Education Coordinator, Senior Adults Director.

O*NET 21-2021.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $52,100; Middle half earn $44,010 to $73,730. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 54% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Develop or direct study courses or religious education programs within congregations.
Identify and recruit potential volunteer workers.
Select appropriate curricula or class structures for educational programs.
Schedule special events, such as camps, conferences, meetings, seminars, or retreats.
Counsel individuals regarding interpersonal, health, financial, or religious problems.
Collaborate with other ministry members to establish goals and objectives for religious education programs or to develop ways to encourage program participation.
Train and supervise religious education instructional staff.
Implement program plans by ordering needed materials, scheduling speakers, reserving space, or handling other administrative details.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Speaking4.1 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.9 / 5
Critical Thinking3.9 / 5
Active Learning3.9 / 5
Learning Strategies3.8 / 5

Knowledge areas

Philosophy and Theology4.2 / 5
Education and Training4.0 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.9 / 5
English Language3.8 / 5
Psychology3.5 / 5
Therapy and Counseling3.4 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic0
Investigative28
Artistic40
Social100
Enterprising86
Conventional36

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

religious studies lecturer · DE Hochschullehrkraft für Religionswissenschaft · FR enseignant-chercheur en théologie/enseignante-chercheuse en théologie
chaplain · DE Seelsorger/Seelsorgerin · FR aumônier/aumônière
minister of religion · DE Geistlicher/Geistliche · FR ministre du culte
missionary · DE Missionar/Missionarin · FR missionnaire
religion scientific researcher · DE Religionswissenschaftler/Religionswissenschaftlerin · FR théologien/théologienne
monk/nun · DE Mönch/Nonne · FR moine/moniale

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Human resource managers and directors (1136)229,100 employed
Caretakers (6232)53,500 employed
Higher education teaching professionals (2311)258,500 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.21. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (21-2021).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test