Yeah, in general I say that if you want to go through with a PhD, it should be for you (on a personal level) or because you have a real plan to use it, and never because it's the thing to do or the thing to have to make you look smart or better. I know a few folks who wanted to get an MA for the latter reason, and it bugged me to no end.

I enjoyed teaching for 3 years at the college I work for, which was a junior/vo-tech college at the time (and we still are given the mindset of this place). You're right though; at a real college or university, it's sadly the case that there's more importance place on publishing and notoriety than anything else. To that end, I said "No thanks." But, that's just me. I don't want to end up hating the study of religion, if you know what I mean.