A foundational area of study in the early days of Trinity College, the Theology Department is one of the College's oldest departments.

In the establishment of Washington College (now Trinity College), theology was considered one of the core subjects, particularly as the founders of the College modeled the new school after the European style of teaching. Even the College's first president, Thomas Church Brownell, was a professor of Theology. In 1839, a survey of alumni revealed that 55 out of 140 were clergymen or theology students. A Dean of Theology was also part of the College's administration, the first of whom was the Reverend Dr. Thomas Winthrop Coit.

The importance of theology at the College was not only for academic or moral pursuit but to compare itself with its nearby rival, Yale College, which was a Congregational institution. Nathaniel Wheaton, defending against claims that the College was simply “an instrument of [Episcopal] Proselytism,” pointed out that the College lacked a theology professor, compared to Yale's three theologians in the classroom. However, Wheaton could only indicate one faculty member and only a mere fourth of the Trustees who were not from the Episcopal Church, hardly disproving the idea that sectarian theology mattered at Washington College. For a time, expanding the College into a university with a School of Theology was considered, but ultimately the idea did not take hold.

In 1848, when John Williams was named president of Trinity College, he wanted to strengthen the ties between Trinity and the Episcopal Church. As a result, Williams was intent on offering courses in theological education, as he had done in the past with students from Union College in Schenectady, New York. Some of these students followed Williams to Trinity, where he continued to informally instruct them in theological coursework. In time, a Theology Department grew out of Williams' instruction and by 1851, the College had integrated a full complement of theological coursework into its curriculum. In 1852, the Diocese of Connecticut recognized the program as an official Diocesan School of Theology, which brought a steady number of new theological students to the College. The Department's early curriculum mirrored that of the General Seminary in New York; many students of this curriculum proceeded to pursue a Master's Degree.

John Williams had been elected Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Connecticut in 1851, and as such, was serving both as President of Trinity College and as a diocesan bishop. Under pressure from former Trinity College president and then diocesan bishop, Thomas Church Brownell, to resign his presidency from the College to focus full-time on his diocesan duties, Williams submitted his resignation to the College in 1853. Desiring to move diocesan theological instruction away from the College, Williams proposed that the Theology Department be chartered as a separate corporation and moved to a new location. Bishop Brownell proposed this idea at the diocesan convention, where it was received favorably, and by 1854, the Connecticut General Assembly had chartered Berkeley Divinity School, located in Middletown, Connecticut. Williams' departure, along with that of Professor Coit, who increasingly felt underappreciated at the College, all but eliminated the Theology Department.

The popularity of the Theology Department continued to decrease over time, and by 1900, only two students in the incoming class were interested in studying theology to fulfill a degree. In more recent years, the Theology Department has evolved into the Religious Studies Department, popular with students interested in philosophy, culture, and anthropology. The course selection offers a diverse mixture of religious traditions and perspectives.

Trinity College: Religious Studies

History of Trinity College (1967) by Glenn Weaver, pp. 6, 30, 71, 112-115, 246.