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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 universities still confer the D.D., upon supplication, in recognition of the scholarly contributions to theology made by a person's published work. 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". An additional famous occurrence is in Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera 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 resides in this vicinity See also | ||||||||||
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