Reference.com

Doctor of Divinity

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

Doctor of Divinity (D.D., Divinitatis Doctor in Latin) is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects.

In the United Kingdom, D.D. has traditionally been the highest doctorate granted by universities, usually conferred upon a religious scholar of standing and distinction. In descending order of seniority, the D.D. degree is followed by LL.D. (or D.C.L.) for law, M.D. (or D.M.) for medicine, Litt.D. (or D.Litt.) for letters, D.Sc. (or Sc.D.) for science, and D.Mus. or (Mus.D.) for music. The high status of the D.D. qualification in British universities owed to their traditional affiliation with the Christian church. As universities became increasingly secular in the 20th century, the D.D. degree lost much of its preeminence in practice, though officially it is still the most senior qualification at the English universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Durham, as well as at the Scottish universities of St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh.

In the United States the D.D. is usually awarded as an honorary degree. There is no system of "higher degrees" in the U.S., so the highest earned degrees in academic Theology are the Ph.D., Th.D. or S.T.D.. Professional degrees in applied Theology include the D.B.S., D.Th.P. and the highest degree--the D.Min..

Contemporary usage

In more recent times a D.D. degree is usually granted as an honorary doctorate upon a distinguished individual whose work has been connected with religion. In most English-speaking universities a graduate student who has completed a doctoral course of study and research in religion will usually receive a Ph.D. or a Th.D, rather than a D.D. A number of universities. however, still confer the D.D., upon supplication, in recognition of the scholarly contributions to theology made by a person's published work. An early example was the Reverend John Andrews, D.D. (4th Provost of the University of Pennsylvania)

This was a question in who wants to be a Millonaire

In literature

A well-known piece of humorous doggerel runs

A young theologian named Fiddle
refused to accept his degree
"It's bad enough being named Fiddle,
Without being Fiddle, D.D."

In another instance of D.D. being used in literature for humorous purposes, Kurt Vonnegut's novel Mother Night features the character of a deranged neo-Nazi dentist, the Rev. Dr. Lionel Jones, D.D.S., D.D. In William Faulkner's novel Light in August, the Rev. Hightower's designation as a "D.D." is said by the townspeople to mean "done damned". Also, Oscar Wilde's celebrated stage comedy The Importance of Being Earnest features the character Rev. Cannon Frederick Chasuble, D.D.

An additional famous occurrence is in Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Pirates of Penzance, nearing the end of Act I, where Major-General Stanley's daughters are captured by the clumsy corsairs:

Here's a first-rate opportunity
To get married with impunity
And indulge in the felicity
Of unbounded domesticity
You shall quickly be parsonified
Conjugally matrimonified
By a Doctor of Divinity
Who is located in this vicinity

See also

External links



Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia © 2001-2006 Wikipedia contributors (Disclaimer)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Tuesday March 11, 2008 at 13:56:29 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation