Doctor of Divinity

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Aquatint of a Doctor in Divinity at the University of Oxford, in the scarlet and black academic robes corresponding to his position. From R. Ackermann's History of Oxford, 1814.

Doctor of Divinity (D.D., Divinitatis Doctor in Latin) is an 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, and D.Sc. (or Sc.D.) for science. 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 universities of Oxford, Durham, and Cambridge.

Contemporary usage

Today, 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. However, a number of South African universities still confer the D.D. upon the successful completion of a doctoral dissertation or as a recognition of the scholarly contributions made by a person's publishing career.

The Senate of Serampore College (University) also confers this degree by honoris causa to eminent persons serving the cause of theological education.

The Universal Life Church offers these degrees to anyone for $29.00.[link]

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".

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