Education

How to become a religious education director

Official title: Religious education director

Also called: Theologian, Religious education adviser

Religious education directors design and oversee programmes that encourage the faith of existing and potential members of a religious group.

Main tasks

Develop and teach religious education programmes
Lead classes and community events
Present social services information to the public
Promote religious organisations
Collaborate with others to develop programmes
Plan programmes, conferences and special events
Counsel people about personal issues
Interpret religious information for the community

How to become one

You need a qualification to become a religious education director and experience may be useful. You need University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Required: a bachelor's degree in religion OR a bachelor's degree in education. Other requirements: a master's degree in religion, education or similar area; experience in similar work; a driver licence; to pass a police check.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

University: Arts & Humanities degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand
University: Education & Teaching degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand

Pay

Most common pay: $52,540 to $65,903 a year (median $57,864), a TEC estimate before tax.
Upper: $73,941 a year
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.

Questions people ask

How do I become a religious education director?

How much does a religious education director earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $57,864 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $52,540 to $65,903 a year.

Sources

Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026