Plan a lesson with a volunteer
Pick teaching materials, then talk a volunteer through using a story, questions and an activity with their group.
Career profile
Religious Education Director
Religious education directors build a congregation's learning program and back the teachers who lead it.
You choose lessons, prepare volunteers and arrange classes where people explore faith. It fits someone who enjoys teaching and wants charge of the whole program.
A day in the life
Fill a class with no teacher
Spot a group with no teacher on the schedule, recruit a volunteer and arrange training before they start.
Figure out why turnout shifted
Turnout has shifted, so look at attendance, hear from families, then rethink class times or the curriculum.
Buy supplies within the budget
Price out supplies against the program budget, pick which ones to buy and log the spending.
Quick facts
Usually a bachelor’s plus experience
United States · 2025
Not displayed
Pay depends on the position’s hours and responsibilities; national figures also include other religious program directors.
Not displayed
National projections combine religious education with other religious program leadership jobs.
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Usually a bachelor’s plus experienceThe broader religious-director occupation typically requires a bachelor’s degree and less than five years of related experience. Congregations set their own requirements.
Pay
Not displayedPay depends on the position’s hours and responsibilities; national figures also include other religious program directors.
Outlook
Not displayedNational projections combine religious education with other religious program leadership jobs.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You enjoy helping someone else become a more confident teacher.
- You like turning a broad learning goal into a workable class plan.
- You can stay interested when the work shifts from discussion to schedules and budgets.
Things to weigh
- Evening and weekend programs can take time that friends or family have free.
- Planning lessons competes with recruiting volunteers, managing spending and organizing events.
Where AI may help
Email, websites and livestreams help some parish programs keep families connected between meetings.
What people still lead
You still choose suitable lessons and help teachers respond to the people in the room.
What we can’t predict yet
In congregations offering online participation, the lasting balance between screen-based and in-person programs remains unsettled. That affects what you prepare and how you support volunteers.
Pay in context
Earnings
Compare the salary with the hours and the ages or programs you would lead.
A national reference point
The broader group of directors of religious activities and education had a 2025 median of $52,100 a year—about $25.05 an hour when divided across 2,080 hours. This is not a religious-education-only median.
The national spread
In May 2025, the 10th-percentile annual wage was $34,670 and the 90th-percentile wage was $98,310. These are wage percentiles, not starting and senior salaries.
Pay in two congregation settings
A full-time Catholic parish education role in the Rockford Diocese advertises $45,000–$55,000 annually. A full-time Unitarian Universalist lifespan education role in San Antonio advertises $58,700–$71,600, depending on experience. These individual ranges do not establish a pay difference between faith traditions.
Openings across the broader field
For religious activities and education directors together, employment is projected to grow 3.3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,000 openings per year on average. Those openings include replacements and are not all religious education positions.
Getting started
Combine college study with teaching experience
- What the route involves
- Study theology and build experience teaching religious education or working in youth ministry.
- What it can lead to
- This fits the broader occupation’s typical combination of a bachelor’s degree and related experience.
- What to check
- A degree alone is not enough everywhere; Catholic parish roles may require you to be a practicing Catholic.
Build equivalent religious education experience
- What the route involves
- Develop religious education experience for positions that explicitly accept it in place of a college degree.
- What it can lead to
- You can be considered through an employer’s experience-based option.
- What to check
- Ask what experience counts; equivalency is an employer decision.
Requirements belong to the congregation or denomination. Check both the education requirement and the religious commitments before choosing a route.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get established
Learn the program calendar, meet the teachers and make sure each class has materials and coverage.
Improve the program
Assess what families need, coach volunteers and evaluate whether activities are meeting your learning goals.
Lead a wider age range
A possible next step is directing learning from childhood through adulthood, with responsibility for staff and a larger program budget.
Where you can work
Catholic parish with a school
Coordinate with the principal and youth ministry director. Lessons may prepare children for First Communion and other sacraments as well as regular classes.
- Indoors
- Office
Unitarian Universalist lifespan program
Work with the minister and separate youth and adult education committees. Your responsibilities can stretch from childcare staff to adult discussion-group leaders.
- Indoors
- Office
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Choose a religious story or teaching you know. Draft a 20-minute class for a chosen age group, then add a volunteer briefing and materials list. Notice whether you enjoy both shaping the lesson and making it possible for someone else to teach.
Stay safe: Keep this as a paper exercise; you do not need to organize a children’s group.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. Directors, Religious Activities and Education — 21-2021.00. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics, 2025–35. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Diocese of Rockford / St. Thomas More Church. Director of Religious Education. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Antonio. Director of Lifespan Religious Education. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Saint Anthony Catholic Church and School. Director of Religious Education and Youth Ministry. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Unitarian Universalist Association. 2024 UUA Certification Report. Accessed 2026-10-03.