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What Does the Church Teach About AI?

By: Alessandro Rovati
August 27, 2026
Catholic Moral Theology

What Does the Church Teach About AI?

A Primer for Teachers, Students, and All People of Good Will

Where Does the Catholic Church Teach About AI?

At this point, there are four major documents that people can consult to find out what the Church teaches about AI:

  • Magnifica Humanitas, the encyclical that Pope Leo XIV released last May and that represents the most articulate and authoritative teaching on the topic.
  • Antiqua et Nova, a note published by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith and the Dicastery for Culture and Education in January 2025 on the relationship between artificial intelligence and human intelligence.
  • Quo Vadis Humanitas?, a document of the International Theological Commission published in February 2026 that contains an extensive reflection on what theological anthropology has to say to the challenges of our technological age.
  • Message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, a succinct but comprehensive address in which Pope Leo previewed many of the encyclical’s contents.

As a bonus, one can also learn from the open access books published by the AI Research Group put together by the Dicastery for Culture and Education’s Centre for Digital Culture, a group of scholars who wrote on Catholic social teaching, AI ethics, and human agency (a third volume on education is forthcoming later this year).

What Do We Mean When We Say “AI?”

This is a very important, albeit often overlooked, question. Talk of “artificial intelligence” is as ubiquitous in today’s discourse as it is ambiguous. Alexa Steinbrück puts it succinctly: AI “does not refer to a single technology—it is an umbrella term” that is not new. It can name an entire field of knowledge and computer science research that stretches back to the 1950s devoted to creating machines that would exhibit abilities that we typically associate with human intelligence. In this broader sense, artificial intelligence encompasses all sorts of software and applications that predate the more recent advent of ChatGPT and its competitors and that are fully integrated and necessary to our contemporary technological society. Artificial intelligence can also be a way to refer to machine learning, that is, the creation of models that use algorithms “to make predictions or decisions based on data.” Even in this case, to use artificial intelligence to refer to machine learning is a way to refer to all sorts of models, software, and applications, some of them quite dated.

Recent advances in computational power and breakthroughs in algorithmic techniques have made machine learning more advanced and powerful than ever before, giving rise to what experts in the field call “deep learning,” a type of machine learning that allows models to identify complex patterns and relationships in large amounts of data without constant and direct human intervention. It is from this kind of machine learning that generative AI comes. IBM defines generative AI’s distinctive mark as the ability to create “complex original content such as long-form text, high-quality images, realistic video or audio and more in response to a user’s prompt or request.” It does so by drawing on extensive amounts of data that constitute its training and producing original content that draws on the patterns and relationships the machine detected in the data used in its training. Steinbrück describes large language models (LLMs) as a form of generative AI that have learned “how human language works by analysing vast amounts of text” and can thus produce highly sophisticated outputs based on them via a process called tokenization. These LLMs are what power the chatbots we have come to know (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and the like), and they are what most people refer to when they think of artificial intelligence.

LLMs and generative AI are certainly what the Church’s documents listed above have in mind when wrestling with the opportunities and challenges posed by artificial intelligence. Yet, the technology has not stopped there. What Ethan Mollick helpfully describes as “conversation-first” AIs that depend on users constantly interacting with them by asking questions have now been surpassed by so-called “AI agents,” goal-directed AI systems that, as IBM explains, “can perform tasks and accomplish goals on behalf of a user or another system without human intervention, by designing [their] own workflow and using available tools (other applications or services).” Steinbrück explains that AI agents are “equipped with a kind of ‘executive’ capability, meaning they can not only generate text but also access operating system functions or control entire user accounts.” The user gives them goals, rather than step-by-step instructions, and the AI agents use tools, memory, and external systems to respond to the user’s query. This is the new AI frontier, one that is so recent that, despite being published just three months ago, Magnifica Humanitas does not address directly, although it offers principles for discernment and action that can be easily extended to this latest form of AI technology. The complexity and constant evolution of the multiple technologies that fit under the umbrella term artificial intelligence is one of the reasons why the Catholic Church calls for principled and careful discernment and does not simply arrive at definitive conclusions in favor or against AI – the notable exception being its non-negotiable opposition against fully autonomous weapons systems (Magnifica Humanitas, no. 200).

What Does the Church Teach About AI?

The Church is not against technology. Advancements in science and technology are the fruits of “the potential inscribed within human intelligence,” which God gave us as a gift to collaborate with Him to perfect creation and serve the well being of all (Antiqua et Nova, no. 2). Accordingly, “technology should not be considered, in itself, as a force antagonistic to humanity” (Magnifica Humanitas, no. 4) but as a possible answer to “humanity’s vocation to the good” (Antiqua et Nova, no. 48), provided that it remains always “ordered toward the common good, justice, the care of the vulnerable and creation” (Magnifica Humanitas, no. 129).

Not all technological progress is good. While created to follow God’s love and will for the world, our wounded humanity often succumbs to the logic of pride, domination, and consumption (Quo Vadis Humanitas?, no. 29). Despite the contemporary idolatry of progress that considers all forms of advancement as a good in and of itself, the Church warns us that “technological developments that do not lead to an improvement in the quality of life of all humanity, but on the contrary, aggravate inequalities and conflicts, can never count as true progress” (Antiqua et Nova, no. 54). There is often an imbalance between “the speed of technological growth and the slower development of awareness, norms, safeguards and institutions capable of governing its effects” (Magnifica Humanitas, no. 106). Moral growth should accompany the growth in power that technological progress makes possible, but that is often not the case, and we find ourselves with a deficit of responsibility and values (Antiqua et Nova, no. 108). Pope Leo calls this ever present temptation to turn technology into a dehumanizing force that “excludes God and reduces the other to a means” the Babel syndrome, that is, “the idolatry of profit that sacrifices the weak, a uniformity that neutralizes differences, and the pretense that a single language – even a digital one – can translate everything, including the mystery of the person, into data and performance” (Magnifica Humanitas, no. 106).

Technology is never neutral. “Technological products reflect the worldview of their developers, owners, users, and regulators, and have the power to ‘shape the world and engage consciences on the level of values’” (Antiqua et Nova, no. 41). In fact, they are always controlled by and subordinated to “economic interests intent on dominating the market and, not least, to attempts to impose cultural models that serve ideological and political agendas (Quo Vadis Humanitas?, no. 42). As such, “the use of AI is never a purely technical matter: when it enters processes that affect people’s lives, it touches on rights, opportunities, status and freedom” (Magnifica Humanitas, no. 102). Every technology “embodies choices and priorities through what it measures, ignores and optimizes, and how it classifies people and situations” (Magnifica Humanitas, no. 104). Accordingly, we cannot start our ethical deliberations from scratch, as if AI were a simple tool among many. It is not. Digital technology conditions us because it is “a real living environment, with its own way of structuring human activities and relationships. This technological development has a strong impact on the self-understanding of the individual, inscribed in new cognitive and communicative potentialities” (Quo Vadis Humanitas?, no. 33). The impact of the digital revolution on our lives is so strong that Pope Leo teaches that “artificial intelligence needs to be disarmed. The word is strong, I know,” he commented when presenting the encyclical to the media. It is strong “but deliberately chosen because this moment needs words capable of attracting attention, awakening consciences and indicating paths forward for humanity.”

AI poses an anthropological challenge. Because AI can “simulate aspects of human reasoning and perform specific tasks with incredible speed and efficiency” (Antiqua et Nova, no. 32), we are tempted to let it shape the way we think about human intelligence and personhood. If we do that, we fall trap to a functionalist perspective that values people exclusively for the work they can perform rather than for the intrinsic dignity that comes from being created in the image and likeness of God (Antiqua et Nova, no. 34). When that happens, “everything that appears as a ‘limit’ – incapacity, illness, old age, suffering, vulnerability – tends to be seen primarily as a defect to be corrected” (Magnifica Humanitas, no. 118) and those who cannot perform according to worldly standards – the unborn, the unconscious, the disabled, and the elderly – are dehumanized and treated as disposable (Antiqua et Nova, no. 34). Slowly but surely, we are inching toward a world “enslaved to efficiency, where, ultimately, the cost of humanity must be cut” (Antiqua et Nova, no. 68). We live at a crossroads that summons us to safeguarding our humanity against an anti-human vision in which “the fullness of life is equated with having more, reducing weakness, eliminating uncertainty and exerting total control” and “human beings are tempted to see themselves as a project to be optimized rather than as persons called to relationship and communion” (Magnifica Humanitas, no. 112).

Not fear but vigilance. “Let’s not fear artificial intelligence,” Pope Leo said during the encyclical’s presentation, “but constantly keep the question of the human in play.” Overall, the Church describes AI as a “valuable tool” that calls for a “measured and vigilant approach,” given that its use offers significant opportunities but also risks (Magnifica Humanitas, no. 100). In discerning how to engage with such a novel technology, it is necessary that we remain mindful of its dangers. Here are the ones singled out by Pope Leo in his encyclical:

  • Polarization. “Public opinion is gradually being shaped and conditioned by polarizing media narratives, which are often amplified by algorithms that prioritize conflict and confrontation” (no. 190). Contemporary media habituates us to ways of communicating that make listening and careful thinking hard and reward propaganda and emotional responses instead.
  • Deskilling. While AI is simply using complex algorithms that analyze data and then create well-formed sentences, people mistake its product as an expression of meaningful judgments that are the fruit of intelligent, conscious, and moral deliberation (no. 99). In the long run, excessive reliance on AI and the search for ready-made answers can weaken personal creativity and judgment and thus diminish our intellectual and moral abilities and skills. Furthermore, this new technology has the potential of disrupting the job market and exacerbating the inequalities and power imbalances that already exist in our society (no. 153).
  • Erosion of the distinction between reality and simulation. Generative AI introduces an unprecedented difficulty in distinguishing between what is real and what is simulated. The digital space is now inundated with videos, images, and “persons” that are not real but created by automated agents instead. This is a problem in and of itself, but it is made even graver by the fact that such simulated realities influence public debates and individual choices. AI gives rise to “the power to profile, predict and influence behavior, often without individuals being fully aware of it” (no. 171). Furthermore, the pervasive simulation of human interactions with machines can make people “gradually lose the very desire to form genuine human connections” (no. 100).
  • Addiction. We should consider the impact of the digital revolution, which AI simply extends and enhances, on human freedom. In particular, the “subtler forms of addiction linked to the ‘digital attention economy’ should not be underestimated, since platforms and services are often designed to capture users’ time and attention, exploiting their vulnerabilities and weakening their inner freedom. When business models thrive on human weakness, the person is treated as a means rather than as an end; those who design or finance such systems bear a moral responsibility that cannot be ignored” (no. 170)
  • Bias. “The apparent objectivity of the responses and suggestions [AI] systems provide can lead us to overlook the fact that they reflect the cultural assumptions of those who designed and trained them, with all their strengths and limitations” (no. 100). While we are conditioned to think of the responses provided by the machine as neutral, they actually reflect and reinforce “the stereotypes or ideological bias of their designers and developers” (no. 102) by exercising covert forms of nudging and control (no. 171).
  • Exploitation of people and resources. “The gains in efficiency and the potential to improve certain services [made possible by AI] are clear, yet rapidly and uncritically adopting them exposes us to a range of risks, including the tendency to overlook the environmental impact” (no. 102). Most importantly, we must “recognize the hidden, often exploited workers, who sustain algorithmic systems” (no. 109): “Nothing in the world of AI is immaterial or magical. Every seemingly immediate and flawless response is the result of a long chain of mediation, involving vast networks of natural resources, energy infrastructure and, above all, people” (no. 173).

Conclusion

To summarize, the Church teaches that Christian humanism does not reject science or technology, and thus AI, but embraces them with humility, gratitude, and realism. Aware of their ambivalence, the Church seeks to put all technologies at the service of God’s plan for humanity, a plan in which the dignity of all is protected and fostered. The Church calls us to careful reflection and courageous discernment, one that might call us to swim against the tide of our culture and the powers that be if we want to make AI an ally to authentic human flourishing.

The creative intelligence of humanity is a gift that can alleviate suffering and open up new possibilities, but it must remain ordered toward the common good, justice, the care of the vulnerable and creation. In this sense, the true alternative is not between enthusiasm and fear, but between two paths of development: a progress that serves individuals and peoples, or a progress that subjects them to the mentality of power. Ultimately, the key question remains the one posed by Saint John Paul II: does AI ‘make human life on earth ‘more human’ in every aspect of that life? Does it make it more worthy of man?’ If the answer is yes, then we can recognize it as an opportunity to be embraced responsibly, on a path of patient, shared reconstruction, akin to the rebuilding of Jerusalem narrated in the Book of Nehemiah. If, however, power grows while the heart withers and human bonds fray, then we are faced with a new form of Babel — a construction that is grandiose, yet fundamentally dehumanizing” (Magnifica Humanitas, no. 129)

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Leadership Is Learned: Professor Brad Frazier on Teaching Rising Leaders at Belmont Abbey College

Leadership Is Learned: Professor Brad Frazier on Teaching Rising Leaders at Belmont Abbey College

In 2007, Brad Frazier’s alma mater invited him to apply for a campus director position. Frazier was a bit surprised. He was currently working as a banker and had also been a minister. This meant he had plenty of operational and people skills, but he had never worked in academia before.

Still, Frazier landed the position and never looked back. In the almost 20 years since, he has learned a lot about leadership. While that includes skills in areas such as adaptability and managing resources, he has also learned one important piece of wisdom about the nature of leadership itself.

“Leadership is a trainable skill,” Frazier said. “There are certainly people who just have that charisma. But if you don’t, that doesn’t mean you can’t be a good leader.”

Today, Frazier and his colleagues at Belmont Abbey College prove that fact every day. As both an administrator and instructor in the Master of Arts (MA) in Leadership program, Frazier helps rising leaders in every industry find their footing and become agents of effective and ethical change.

The Transition Into Academia and Leadership Education

When Frazier stepped into the campus director role, he had just earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA). He quickly fell in love with higher education and wanted to pivot into teaching. In pursuit of that goal, Frazier earned his PhD in global leadership with a specialization in corporate and organizational management in 2009.

In 2010, Frazier became the director of his university’s MBA and Master of Science in Leadership programs. He stepped back from that position in 2013 and entered the classroom full-time at the undergraduate level.

Finding His Place at Belmont Abbey

In 2015, a colleague told Frazier that Belmont Abbey College was looking to hire a new business faculty member. At first, he was drawn to the school because it was just a few minutes drive from his house. But when he went in for an interview, Frazier knew he had found his new home.

“Everybody here was just so welcoming, so friendly, and so kind to a total stranger,” Frazier said. “I absolutely cannot imagine being anywhere else, because of how special this place is. It is unlike any other work environment I’ve ever had in my life as far as people supporting each other and truly loving each other.”

Bringing Real-World Knowledge to the Classroom

Frazier has taught many of the classes that make up Belmont Abbey’s MA in Leadership program. One of his favorite classes to teach is Leading Teams, in which students learn skills such as how to establish clear roles within teams and set measurable goals. While the curriculum covers multiple approaches, this is a class where Frazier’s real-world experience with principles such as servant leadership shines.

“Servant leadership is about serving the people working under you so that they can be successful,” Frazier said of this approach. “Your job as a leader is to knock down barriers and clear any obstacles.”

Another of Frazier’s favorite classes is Ethics and Value Based Leadership. With its focus on accountability, integrity, and sustainability, Frazier says this class is central to Belmont Abbey’s Benedictine identity and highly applicable to today’s world.

“It’s team-taught in three parts: leadership, philosophy, and theology,” Frazier said. “When we do exit interviews with students, this is the class they say had the biggest impact on them.”

Hands-On Education

As highly as Frazier regards the MA in Leadership curriculum itself, he also values Belmont Abbey’s hands-on approach to teaching it. In most classes, Frazier and his colleagues use case studies so students can practice their new skills while solving problems they may encounter in their own careers.

Toward the end of their studies, students get more in-depth and hands-on training by completing a capstone project, an activity Frazier enjoys leading and helping with.

“For their capstone, we put students into teams and insert them into a nonprofit partner of ours,” Frazier said. “We actually have them go out and work on a real-life problem.” The nonprofit partners students work with include disability service provider Holy Angels and MiraVia, an organization that serves pregnant college students from all over the country.

Designing an Impactful and Relevant Leadership Degree Program

While Frazier teaches important leadership skills in the classroom, he has also put those skills to work himself as an administrator at Belmont Abbey College. When he arrived in 2015, he was named director of the MBA and MA in Leadership programs. In 2025, he became vice provost and dean of graduate and professional studies, shifting to his current role as interim provost in 2026.

“What I have learned in this role is that leadership is still teaching,” Frazier said. “You’re still teaching your folks to be successful.”

One of Frazier’s proudest accomplishments as an administrator at Belmont Abbey College has been leading the efforts to design and launch the MA in Leadership program in 2022.

“The number one thing I wanted to do when I developed the program was to develop ethical and moral leaders,” Frazier said. “Every business, no matter what sector, needs to have good leaders, good people who understand people.”

Making Asynchronous Learning Personal

Frazier and his colleagues also wanted the MA in Leadership program to be accessible to working professionals. For that reason, they designed the program to be one year long, made up of 10 asynchronous classes, and delivered online. At the same time, Frazier and his team have worked hard to ensure students do not have to sacrifice an impactful and personal experience for convenience.

“There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t have a phone call or a Zoom call with students one-on-one during the day or at night,” Frazier said, adding that faculty also have online office hours. “We encourage that interaction with students, whether they have a question or problem or just want to talk.”

Even though Frazier is delighted by the positive feedback students have given about the program so far, he and his team are not resting on their laurels. They have recently added new human resources and strategy classes to the curriculum as well as lessons on the ethical use of artificial intelligence.

“We continue to look at the program and listen to what the students say,” Frazier said. “It’s not static. Leadership changes, people change, the economy changes, everything changes. We try to stay on top of it.”

Start Your Journey to Impactful Leadership Today

With leaders such as professor Brad Frazier at the helm, the MA in Leadership program at Belmont Abbey College provides in-depth and accessible leadership education to professionals from every sector.

In the asynchronous 10-class program, students learn skills in areas such as human resource management, data-informed decision-making, and organizational change management. Just as importantly, they learn how to apply these skills in the context of a servant leadership framework built on community, humility, and other Benedictine values.

To find out more about the MA in Leadership program, request information from Belmont Abbey College today.

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Nursing Education Statistics: USA

As a Benedictine institution rooted in the hallmarks of stability, hospitality, community, and love, Belmont Abbey College has brought to the field of nursing education an unwavering emphasis on exceptional, compassionate, and ethical care. It has been our joy to form nurses who enter the healthcare system well prepared to meet the growing needs of our Gaston County home and beyond.

As part of our dedication to advancing the field and providing the highest quality education to future nurses, Belmont Abbey recently commissioned a study to explore the experience of college-educated nurses within the healthcare industry after graduation. It is our hope that these findings will contribute to an essential and ongoing conversation that bears with such urgency on the health of our communities.

Nursing Education Statistics: US 2026

In the US, there are various educational pathways you can follow if you want to take the standardized National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX)-RN and become a nurse. These include a diploma, an associate degree, a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, a PhD program, and doctoral programs. With so many options, it’s natural for those considering a nursing career to wonder which path they should follow and whether their potential career choice is worth it.

To gain a better understanding of nursing education, we sourced data from an independent poll of 500 college-educated nurses in the US. The responses to various questions ranged from the expected to the surprising and beyond. Here’s what we found.

Index

  • A Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) is the highest level of education completed by 44% of college-educated nurses in the US
  • 18% of college-educated nurses in the US say pediatric nursing best describes their primary career path since completing their nursing degree
  • 34% of college-educated nurses in the US have worked in three different nursing roles or specialties since graduating
  • 41% of college-educated nurses in the US say “excellent job security with multiple opportunities” best describes job availability in their nursing career
  • 22% of college-educated nurses in the US say career advancement into leadership is the primary opportunity their nursing degree has opened for them
  • 31% of college-educated nurses in the US find making a difference in people’s lives the most rewarding
  • For 32% of college-educated nurses in the US, maintaining work-life balance is the primary challenge
  • 25% of college-educated nurses in the US secured their desired nursing role within six months of graduating
  • 55% of college-educated nurses in the US say they would still choose nursing as a career if they could start over
  • 39% of college-educated nurses in the US say they are extremely likely to recommend nursing as a career to prospective students
  • 19% of college-educated nurses in the US say the most important advice they would give to those considering a nursing career is to find strong mentors early
  • The Bottom Line
  • Methodology

What Is Your Highest Level Of Education Completed?

A Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) is the highest level of education completed by 44% of college-educated nurses in the US

The nurses in our poll have different levels of education:

Q1 What is your highest level of education completed

The highest level of education completed by almost half (44%) of our audience is a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). The popularity of this qualification may be due to it offering higher earning potential and more career opportunities than an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN). For 26%, their highest education level is a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), which is an entry-level degree for advanced roles such as nurse educator and clinical nurse leader.

12% have completed nurse manager, director, or administrator courses, and 11% have a PhD in nursing. Only 7% have completed a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) qualification. This suggests slightly more than half of our audience is focused on building their careers to advance beyond basic nursing roles.

Our findings are somewhat different from those published by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), indicating nurses’ education levels in 2022. That year, 72% of the registered nurse workforce had a baccalaureate or higher degree as their highest level of nursing education, as this would give them better career prospects. 72% of employers strongly prefer baccalaureate-prepared nurses, while 28% require new hires to have a bachelor’s degree. 17% had a master’s degree and 3% had doctoral degrees.

 

How Many Different Nursing Roles Or Specialties Have You Worked In Since Graduating?

34% of college-educated nurses in the US have worked in three different nursing roles or specialties since graduating

Role-changing in nursing is certainly not unusual:

How many different nursing roles or specialties have you worked in since graduating?

 

Of our audience, 34% say they have worked in three different nursing roles or specialties since graduating from college. A slightly lower percentage (30%) say they have worked in two roles. 16% have only worked in their initial role or specialty, while 14% have experience in four to five different roles. Only a small percentage (7%) have worked in more than five roles or specialties since graduating.

There are various reasons why some nurses remain in their initial role while others diversify their careers to work in different roles. Some may choose not to specialize because they derive enough satisfaction from their initial role. Others might not be able to afford the additional studies required for specialization.

Among those who have worked in several different roles, some may be motivated by the challenge of learning new things or want to advance their career for the sake of accomplishment, prestige, and better earnings.

According to Nurse Journal, the top five specialty career choices for nurses include certified registered nurse anesthetist, adult-gerontology nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, family nurse practitioner, and women’s health nurse practitioner.

84% of respondents noted one or more changes in their roles or specialties since graduation, and while the full weight of this statistic depends on the number of years since graduation, the fact that comparatively few nurses remain in the same position still highlights one of the many benefits of a nursing degree: it helps to prepare nurses for a variety of possible roles. 

Completing such a degree could also assist prospective nurses in better discerning the type (or types) of work they wish to pursue within their chosen field, potentially increasing the likelihood of their remaining in that speciality or role. Greater stability would benefit the field, as nurses would bring years of experience to their roles, benefiting not only their own patients but also younger, mentee nurses. 

It is also worth noting that, according to a recent AMN Healthcare survey of 12,171 nurses, 61% of respondents planned to change their current position or employment status within 12 months, which seems to confirm a high level of turnover and role-shifting within the nursing field. 

Which Statement Best Describes Job Availability In Your Nursing Career?

41% of college-educated nurses in the US say “excellent job security with multiple opportunities” best describes job availability in their nursing career

There are different experiences when it comes to job availability:

Of our audience, 34% say they have worked in three different nursing roles or specialties since graduating from college. A slightly lower percentage (30%) say they have worked in two roles. 16% have only worked in their initial role or specialty, while 14% have experience in four to five different roles. Only a small percentage (7%) have worked in more than five roles or specialties since graduating. There are various reasons why some nurses remain in their initial role while others diversify their careers to work in different roles. Some may choose not to specialize because they derive enough satisfaction from their initial role. Others might not be able to afford the additional studies required for specialization. Among those who have worked in several different roles, some may be motivated by the challenge of learning new things or want to advance their career for the sake of accomplishment, prestige, and better earnings. According to Nurse Journal, the top five specialty career choices for nurses include certified registered nurse anesthetist, adult-gerontology nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, family nurse practitioner, and women’s health nurse practitioner. 84% of respondents noted one or more changes in their roles or specialties since graduation, and while the full weight of this statistic depends on the number of years since graduation, the fact that comparatively few nurses remain in the same position still highlights one of the many benefits of a nursing degree: it helps to prepare nurses for a variety of possible roles. Completing such a degree could also assist prospective nurses in better discerning the type (or types) of work they wish to pursue within their chosen field, potentially increasing the likelihood of their remaining in that speciality or role. Greater stability would benefit the field, as nurses would bring years of experience to their roles, benefiting not only their own patients but also younger, mentee nurses. It is also worth noting that, according to a recent AMN Healthcare survey of 12,171 nurses, 61% of respondents planned to change their current position or employment status within 12 months, which seems to confirm a high level of turnover and role-shifting within the nursing field. Which Statement Best Describes Job Availability In Your Nursing Career? 41% of college-educated nurses in the US say “excellent job security with multiple opportunities” best describes job availability in their nursing career Which statement best describes job availability in your nursing career?

Job availability hasn’t been an issue for almost half of our audience (40%), who say they have excellent job security with multiple opportunities. Considering the shortage of nurses in the US mentioned above, it’s not surprising that this percentage has had a positive experience so far. 35% have had a somewhat similar experience, saying they have good job security with some opportunities.

Another 20% say they have stable employment, while just 3% say they have somewhat unstable employment, and 1% say it’s too early in their careers for them to assess job availability.

Surprisingly, a fifth of our audience didn’t mention having job opportunities, and a small percentage said their employment isn’t stable. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, there was a 1% increase in the number of registered nurses but a 3% increase in demand between 2022 and 2025. With a deficit of around 295,800 nurses around the country, nurses should have no trouble finding stable employment and exciting career opportunities.

It is well worth noting that over 95% of respondents identified their employment security as stable or better, with over 75% claiming good or excellent security. A dramatic majority of college educated nurses, then, indicate strong job security.

The Benedictine hallmark of stability means that our monks and, by extension, our college community, remain dedicated to living out the Abbey’s mission, rooted in this particular place. The needs of our county, our state, and our country inform the prayers and work of Belmont Abbey and its apostolate, Belmont Abbey College, as we seek to serve our home. Responding to the healthcare crisis and the growing shortage of nurses in our communities, Belmont Abbey both welcomed the construction of a new hospital on Abbey land and established a Nursing program steeped in Benedictine values. It is our hope that this will contribute materially to the health and wellbeing of the place we have called home for 150 years.

 

What Is The Primary Opportunity Your Nursing Degree Has Opened For You?

22% of college-educated nurses in the US say career advancement into leadership is the primary opportunity their nursing degree has opened for them

A nursing degree can open doors to an impressive range of career opportunities:

What is the primary opportunity your nursing degree has opened for you?

 

For 22% of our audience, the primary opportunity their nursing degree opened was career advancement into leadership. According to CareRev, these positions may include nurse manager, charge nurse, director of nursing, chief nursing officer, clinical nurse leader, or nurse educator, among others. 16% of our audience say their degree has provided them with career mobility across specialties, suggesting they benefit from diversity while potentially working their way into leadership positions.

For 14%, the primary opportunity has been financial stability, while another 14% mention leadership roles. 13% say geographic flexibility is their main opportunity, suggesting they have been able to work in different locations around the US.

The pursuit of advanced education is what 9% of our audience name, and 6% say their main opportunity is entrepreneurship or an independent practice. Among the entrepreneurial roles nurses can fulfill are medical spa nurse, career coach, script consultant, home health nurse, specialist care provider, and wellness coach.

As for the rest of our audience, 3% say their degrees opened international opportunities, implying they’ve been able to work in countries such as Australia, Canada, or the UAE, and 2% say they’ve had the chance to work in non-traditional nursing roles.

Belmont Abbey College is committed to forming young men and women for leadership across a variety of fields, among which healthcare occupies an essential place. The healthcare industry needs nurses who are prepared to face the profound challenges and pressures of their vital work, equipped not only with the necessary skills, knowledge, and hands-on experience to treat their patients, but also the ethical grounding to evaluate complex circumstances and respond to these with clarity and compassion. 

While a nursing degree, in itself, opens up leadership opportunities, the Abbey’s B.S. in Nursing seeks to provide the best possible foundation for assuming these leadership roles. State of the art labs, expert instructors, and rigorous coursework are all critical, but so is a foundation in the Benedictine hallmarks that have inspired men and women in a centuries-long tradition of service to the Good. Great leaders combine expertise with integrity and wisdom, and Belmont Abbey College designed our Nursing program to help our students develop as exceptional professionals and virtuous servant leaders.

 

If You Could Start Over, Would You Still Choose Nursing As A Career?

55% of college-educated nurses in the US say they would definitely still choose nursing as a career if they could start over

Even an opportunity to start over doesn’t change everyone’s career path:

If you could start over would you still choose nursing as a career?

Things don’t always work out as planned, and that’s as true for career choices as it is for anything else in life. On the topic of whether they would still choose nursing as a career if they could start over, 55% of our audience say they definitely would, although 29% are less confident, saying they probably would. This implies these segments of our audience enjoy a great degree of job satisfaction, even if the work they do presents challenges from time to time.

While 10% say they’re unsure they would choose the same career, 5% say they probably wouldn’t. Only 2% say they definitely would not choose nursing again. The attitudes of these audience segments may be due to their experiencing job dissatisfaction.

Research published by the HRSA in 2024 revealed that the percentage of nurses who expressed some dissatisfaction with their job increased from 11% in 2017 to 20% in 2022, with nurses with patient care responsibilities experiencing a greater decline in satisfaction than those without these responsibilities.

Additionally, job satisfaction declined in 20 of the 21 clinical specialties in the same period. The most common reasons nurses gave for switching nursing jobs after December 31, 2021, included burnout, staff shortages, and a stressful work environment.

Comparing participants’ dissatisfaction rate (16.5% answering unsure or in the negative) with the 20% identified by HRSA’s research, it is worth noting that nurses with a college degree seem to express somewhat lower rates of dissatisfaction with their career choice. Whether attributable to more comprehensive preparation or better opportunities, a degree seems to increase the likelihood of satisfaction in Nursing.

 

How Likely Are You To Recommend Nursing As A Career To Prospective Students?

39% of college-educated nurses in the US say they are extremely likely to recommend nursing as a career to prospective students

Nursing as a recommended career comes highly rated:

How likely are you to recommend nursing as a career to prospective students?

Above, we saw how well over half of our audience would still choose nursing if they could start over. Unsurprisingly, our audience also has largely positive feelings about recommending nursing as a career to prospective students.

39% say it’s extremely likely, and 34% say it’s very likely they would recommend it. 17% weren’t as certain, saying they’re somewhat likely to recommend it. The enthusiasm of these audience members may be due to job satisfaction and their own appreciation of the role nurses play in society. It may also be due to the potential for career diversity and growth, as evident in some of the statistics above.

In comparison, only 5% are uncertain, saying they’re neither likely nor unlikely to recommend a nursing career, while 4% say they’re somewhat unlikely to recommend it. Just 1% say they’re extremely unlikely to recommend nursing, and less than 1% say they are very unlikely to do so. This highlights how many enjoy their careers compared to those who do not.

The fact that 73% of respondents consider themselves extremely or very likely to recommend nursing to prospective students is a strong indicator of career satisfaction. This statistic suggests that college educated nurses enter the field well prepared for its challenges. 

Interestingly, only 10.5% of respondents are unsure or unlikely to recommend nursing to prospective students, which is a markedly smaller percentage than the 16.5% who registered ambivalent or negative feelings about their own choice. This discrepancy may suggest that individual regret has more to do with personal circumstances than with disillusionment about the field of nursing itself.

The Bottom Line

These statistics provide thought-provoking insights into the experiences and perceptions of college-educated nurses in the US. For most of our audience, nursing is a rewarding career that offers plenty of scope for growth, development, and specialization, even if it presents a range of challenges.

Encouragingly, most graduates find work relatively soon, if not immediately, after graduating, with many of these nurses being employed in their desired roles. Still, those considering a nursing career need to be fully aware of the advantages and disadvantages involved so they can make an informed decision, bearing in mind the profession’s vocational nature.

Prospective students should also be aware that, given the projected shortage of nurses in the US, they may encounter challenging working conditions. Even so, as many nurses would agree, the rewards of the profession far outrank the downsides.

Methodology

Sourced from an independent Artios poll of 500 college-educated nurses in the United States. Responses are collected within a 95% confidence interval and 5% margin of error.

About the data:

  • 72% of college-educated nurses in the United States are between the ages of 22 and 44.
  • 55% identify as male and 45% as female.
  • 72% are employed full-time.
  • 81% speak no second language, while 13% speak Spanish.
  • 40% earn between $75,000 and $149,999 annually.
  • 55% are classified as white and 27% African American.
  • The highest number (10%) is based in New York.

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Relational and Collaborative: Professor Travis Feezell on His Career and the MA in Leadership Program

Relational and Collaborative: Professor Travis Feezell on His Career and the MA in Leadership Program

In 1992, Travis Feezell became an assistant college baseball coach and quickly worked his way up to head coach. It was his first leadership position in higher education. At the time, he had an admittedly simplistic view of what a leader should do and be.

“I thought leadership was about command and control,” Feezell said about that period in his career. “I’m going to tell you what to do and how to do it. And, when you break the rules, there are going to be consequences. Frankly, I think it was an utter failure in leadership on my part.”

In the three and a half decades since, Feezell has taken on a number of other leadership roles. He has served colleges, universities, and consulting firms as everything from a leadership consultant to a president and provost. However, Feezell’s job title is not the only thing that has changed over the years. His leadership philosophy has evolved as well and is now much more nuanced, empathetic, and effective.

As an associate professor in Belmont Abbey College’s Master of Arts (MA) in Leadership program, Feezell is now sharing his hard-earned wisdom with the next generation of leaders in every sector.

Real-Life Lessons and the Unexpected Path to Leadership

Feezell’s initially rigid attitude about leadership was shaken when the father of one of the players on the baseball team he coached passed away unexpectedly. Feezell delivered the news.

“What leadership demanded in that moment was a humane relationship with this person,” Feezell said. “He needed to be supported.”

As the player’s coach, Feezell knew he should be among the people the young man could count on. Feezell then decided that he should be there not only for this particular person but for anyone on his team who needed him. It was a pivotal moment that taught him the value of a person-first approach to leadership.

Discovering a Passion for Leadership

Equipped with a new outlook on the role of a leader and an intimate knowledge of college athletics, Feezell became his school’s athletic director. In this position, he got more involved with general college operations.

“I was also running the postgraduate scholarship program for the entire institution, looking at Rhodes scholarships and Marshall scholarships for our students,” Feezell said, adding that he was also involved with running the school’s art gallery. “At the same time, I’m picking up a doctoral degree in higher education and sport.”

During this period, Feezell also taught classes on sports ethics, sports history, and sport leadership at various institutions on a part-time basis. In 2008, he brought his talents to Belmont Abbey College, where he had the chance to teach classes on organizational leadership and deepen his understanding of the field.

“That was my first full-time teaching gig, and I ultimately became a tenured professor,” Feezell said. “Within a year, I was the interim athletic director. Within another year, I was the interim dean of the business school.”

At this point, Feezell was largely filling roles as needed. He loved teaching, but the more he worked on the administrative side of higher education, the more he came to love that, as well. A colleague who was then a college president encouraged him to make the pivot.

There and Back Again: Leaving and Returning to Belmont Abbey

In 2014, Feezell left Belmont Abbey to pursue his new calling as provost and chief academic officer at a university in Arkansas. He then became president of a college in Nebraska.

But while leaving Belmont Abbey College allowed Feezell to pursue new opportunities and grow as a leader, it still held a special place in his heart. When the school needed a provost in 2020, he jumped at the chance to return.

“The spirit of the Benedictine community is the thing that attracts me and keeps me here,” Feezell said. “These are beautiful people, beautifully directed to serve the community. It’s an incredibly special place.”

After taking on the provost position, Feezell oversaw Belmont Abbey’s internal operations related to enrollment, student affairs, marketing, and institutional research. Just as importantly, he helped guide the school’s first steps into the world of graduate business education and expand its online offerings.

One of the programs born out of this effort was the MA in Leadership program, which was launched in 2022. Helping to design this program gave Feezell the chance to put his leadership skills to work in a new way.

Designing the MA in Leadership Program: A Curriculum That Fills a Gap

In deciding which master’s programs to launch, Feezell and his colleagues have devoted much time and energy to figuring out what type of education today’s leaders need. The team decided to launch a Master of Business Administration program, but Feezell believes that that type of program is not relevant to every rising leader’s goals.

“An MBA program tends to have a quantitative bent,” Feezell said. “It grounds people in quantitative analysis, and that’s not for everyone. Some people are thinking, ‘How do I become a more influential, effective organizational leader?’”

The MA in Leadership program was designed to serve students with that question in mind. While the program features a class on data analytics, the focus is placed more on team and change management, ethical decision-making, and effective communication, teaching students skills that, in Feezell’s experience, are essential to leading any kind of organization.

According to Feezell, “Leadership is messy, complex, and it can be nasty at some points. It’s motivational and collaborative.”

Returning to the Classroom Full Time

During his time as provost at Belmont Abbey College, Feezell had continued to teach when he could. In 2024, he decided to step back from administration and start teaching full-time again. Today, MA in Leadership students can find him teaching Leading Effectively in Nonprofit Environments and the introductory Foundations of Leadership course.

“I think students come into that class thinking I’m going to teach them how to command and control,” he said of Foundations of Leadership. “I try to spend a significant amount of time just saying I’m not sure that’s what leadership is about.”

Feezell and his students talk about principles such as motivation, celebrating employees’ achievements, and modeling behavior as a leader.

“The other thing that becomes an emphasis in the class is the notion that leadership is a relational activity,” Feezell said. “We don’t lead things, we lead people. We’re in a relationship with them.”

Bringing Meaning and Connection to an Online Format

Feezell’s belief in the relational nature of leadership informs his approach as an instructor in the online and asynchronous MA in Leadership program. In addition to reaching out to students individually, he also uploads a video each week so students can respond to him or each other with their own video.

“The video might be on the topic we’re studying, what’s due that week, or I might be posing a question,” Feezell said. “There is constant conversation.”

Feezell also often asks students to apply their new skills to case studies and exercises about situations they might face as leaders. Students then discuss each other’s solutions and share insights based on their own experiences.

“For me, learning happens in the engagement both with the material and also the conversation that’s happening around it,” he said.

However, Feezell knows he is not alone in his efforts to engage with students in the MA in Leadership program. He is proud of what the program has become and how his colleagues continue to make the students’ experience impactful.

“Sometimes master’s degrees revolve around earning a credential,” he said. “I get that and understand it. Maybe that’s what attracts people to some of our programs at Belmont Abbey. But I think students are transformed by our programs. They can be changed for the better and become better leaders who have better self-awareness.”

Become the Forward-Thinking Leader Your Organization Needs

In the MA in Leadership program at Belmont Abbey College, experienced instructors such as Travis Feezell help students transform into leaders who can navigate any obstacle effectively and ethically.

In as few as 12 months, students in the program complete coursework that covers values-based and servant leadership, strategic decision-making, organizational behavior, and other principles they can take to any industry. Designed for working professionals, the program is delivered in an asynchronous online format that balances convenience with depth and personalized support.

To find out more about the MA in Leadership program, request information from Belmont Abbey College today.

Recommended Readings

Belmont Abbey College Launches Graduate Certificate in Catholic Educational Leadership
Belmont Abbey College Launches Ten New Specializations in a Fully Online Business Studies Undergraduate Program for Working Professionals
What Can You Do With a Leadership Degree?

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Helping Others Thrive: Student Abbey Martin on Learning to Lead at Belmont Abbey College

Helping Others Thrive: Student Abbey Martin on Learning to Lead at Belmont Abbey College

As an organizational and personal development specialist who works at an international cabinetry hardware corporation, Abigail “Abbey” Martin is involved in just about everything related to training the company’s employees. She designs and leads classes that teach skills in areas such as public speaking and active listening, facilitates training sessions with outside providers, and helps her co-workers prepare for promotions and new positions.

“I’ve always loved helping people,” Martin said. “I grew up wanting to be a teacher.”

Even though she is currently working in business administration, Martin has never let go of that dream. One day she would like to teach organizational behavior, leadership, and similar subjects at the college level.

“When I was an undergrad, there were two professors who opened my eyes so much. They changed my career trajectory,” she said. “I want to be that person for others.”

Until then, Martin wants to have as positive an impact as possible in the corporate world while she gathers invaluable first-hand experience.

To help her accomplish all of her goals, Martin enrolled in the online Master of Arts (MA) in Leadership program at Belmont Abbey College in August 2025. While she is only about halfway through her studies as of summer 2026, she feels she has already had a transformative experience.

Where to Start: Finding the Right Program for Authentic Leadership Development

While Martin only recently became a Belmont Abbey student, her connection to the school goes back much further. She grew up nearby and attended soccer camps on the campus. In kindergarten, she decided to go by “Abbey” instead of “Abby,” “Abi,” or any other shortened variation of her full name. She simply loved the way the name looked on Belmont Abbey’s signs.

Years later, when it came time to explore master’s programs, Martin naturally considered her nicknamesake first, but her final decision required a process that was a bit more nuanced.

“I got a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in human resources, but with that, I also had to take accounting and finance classes,” Martin said. “I’m not a numbers person. I knew I wanted to get my master’s, but I didn’t want to get an MBA. It would just not fit me that well.”

What Martin wanted was a program that would enable her to deepen her understanding of organizational behavior, development, and leadership. In that sense, the Master of Arts in Leadership program at Belmont Abbey College seemed like the perfect fit.

“This program hits everything on my list,” she said. “Finding it was a full-circle moment.”

Flexible, Hands-On, and Transformational: Martin’s Online Student Experience

Once Martin requested more information from the MA in Leadership program and started the enrollment process, she found that her initial judgment about the program was correct. However, the program is typically offered in a full-time one-year format, and Martin works full-time and sometimes travels to Austria for work. She says the program’s administrators were quick to help her create a two-year part-time plan.

“They’ve been really flexible,” Martin said. “I couldn’t schedule one of the classes to graduate in two years. So they made a substitution for me, and I was able to take a different class.”

A year in, Martin still has about five classes to go. With each one, she is learning new skills that are helping her in her current role and setting the foundation for her long-term success.

A Hands-On Curriculum Rooted in Real-World Issues

So far, Martin has taken classes in subjects such as the foundations of leadership and professional and technical communication. Each one is delivered online, but, in Martin’s experience, the assignments her instructors give add a hands-on and personalized component to the curriculum

“You’re actually able to tie theories to the real world and use different lenses,” she said.

For instance, in her class on organizational change management, Martin and her peers were tasked with analyzing and making suggestions about a change a business had recently navigated. Students could choose any organization they liked, but Martin chose her own.

“I was able to diagnose how the changes were going at my current organization and identify what we could do to make it better,” she said.

Growing Personally: The Ethical Backbone of the MA in Leadership Program

As a Benedictine institution, Belmont Abbey College integrates values such as service, hospitality, and community into every program. Martin has found this aspect of her education to be just as applicable to her career as the new skills she is learning.

“I absolutely love the Benedictine philosophy, especially the human dignity side of it,” Martin said. “I have taken so much of that mindset into my job. I have tried hard to instill it in other people and make sure I’m exuding it. I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve tried to take away from this program.”

Martin particularly enjoyed reading works by Brené Brown and John Maxwell, modern leadership thinkers who focus on topics such as building trust as a leader, providing clear and honest feedback, and prioritizing ethical leadership.

To tie it all together, Martin completed an oral exam in which she was asked to apply ethical principles to different business scenarios, an exercise she found particularly impactful.

“Taking that ethical mindset and not just reading the words but applying it to work and things going on now was massive for me,” she said. “It really stuck with me.”

When Is the Right Time to Pursue a Master’s?

At just 23 years old, Martin is an experienced professional and, at the same time, still in the early days of her career. She knew now was the best time to invest in her career by earning a master’s, but she wondered if she could handle it or if it was a good idea to dive right in.

Martin is not one to dwell on those types of doubts very long, and now that she is deep into her studies, they are completely gone. She wants that to serve as encouragement for anyone considering enrolling, no matter where they are in their own careers.

“If this is the stepping stone you need to get somewhere in your career or life, do it. Trust in yourself that you’ve got it,” she said of enrolling in the MA in Leadership program. “Balancing school, your social life, and work is hard, but you will be insanely proud of yourself afterward. Embrace it, be good to yourself throughout it all, and give yourself grace.”

Learn to Lead Effectively and Ethically at Belmont Abbey College

In today’s ever-shifting economic landscape, authentic stakeholder engagement, ethical leadership, and informed decision-making are more important than ever. Through Belmont Abbey College’s MA in Leadership program, professionals working in any sector can learn skills in these areas that will enable them to guide their organizations through new obstacles and opportunities alike.

Over the course of 12 months, students take 10 online classes that teach concrete skills in fields such as data analytics, human resource management, and organizational change management. Along the way, Belmont Abbey’s impassioned faculty help them apply these skills within a servant leadership framework that both drives results and inspires others.

To find out more about the program’s curriculum, its scheduling options, or anything else, request information from Belmont Abbey College today.

Recommended Readings

Belmont Abbey College Celebrates Second Annual Graduate Commencement
Belmont Abbey College Launches Online Skills Marketplace to Expand Access to Industry Certifications
Saint Benedict Day — Celebrating the Father of Western Monasticism

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