Theta Alpha Kappa, the national honor society for religious and theological studies, was founded during the 1975-76 academic year by the Religious Studies faculty at Manhattan College in New Yory City and was formally instituted at the annual meeting of the College Theology Society in 1976. By 1995 the Society consisted of over ninety chapters throughout North America, representing a diverse range of institutions, both large and small, public and private. The local chapter here at Creighton University, Alpha Gamma Mu, was established in 1996, and its first public enrollment of members was held in the spring of 1997.

As stated in its Constitution, the Society has as its purposes to honor those who have shown excellence of achievement and promise of continued growth in the disciplines of Religious Studies and Theology and to advance the disciplines by encouraging excellence in teaching, research, publication, and intellectual and social exchange among students, professors, and writers in the field. The three Greek letters that identify the Society are Theta, the first letter of the Greek word theos, God; Alpha, the first letter of the Greek word anthropos, human being; and Kappa, the first letter of the Greek word koinonia, community. God, Humankind, and Community - these constitute the three areas of primary concern to students of Theology.