Resources
Journal Issue.
Journal Issue. Full text is available online.
Journal Issue.
The period 2002–2012 saw remarkable developments in multifaith education at American theological schools. Looking ahead, multifaith education in theological schools is poised to enter a new phase of broad engagement and development. This essay focuses on three aspects of the practice of multifaith education in seminaries. It first presents a brief historical overview of the initiatives and institutions that pioneered multifaith education in theological schools. It then summarizes findings from surveys, reports, and collegial gatherings about the pedagogy of multifaith education. Finally, eight questions for practitioners of multifaith education seminaries to explore in the future are offered.
This essay argues, as its title suggests, that learning that is both comparative and theological can be an ordinary – possible, beneficial, even necessary – part of theological education and, like other fields of study, may be incorporated in the curriculum in ways that meet practical curricular needs. Once the professor has undertaken the initial, minimal learning, teaching comparatively can become a natural and integral part of any seminary course. The study of the other is not exotic or in a class by itself; if we can study our own religious tradition today, we can study others as well. The thesis is argued in several parts: (1) interreligious diversity is integral to the context of contemporary faith; (2) comparative theology engages diversity in an intentionally theological way and needs to be distinguished from other disciplines; (3) a comparative theological approach aids in the process of ensuring that attention to diversity is integral to theological education; (4) teaching comparative theology is not different from teaching other forms of theology. None of this, I suggest, requires a liberal or pluralist theological starting point.
This report analyzes longitudinal enrollment trends in theological schools, using data collected by the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). It is intended to provide information that will help theological schools and the religious communities they serve as they plan strategy and attempt to manage enrollments. It also serves as a backdrop for the comprehensive study of seminary students, On Our Way: Pathways to Seminary (2013), which provides an in-depth look at the experiences and influences that lead students to seminary. (From the Publisher)
The 1980s produced an unprecedented large amount of literature and a vigorous debate on the purpose and nature of theological education in North America. Surveying and probing the major positions in this debate, David H. Kelsey argues in this book that the central differences between various voices in theological education emerge most clearly when viewed in light of "Athens" and "Berlin." For Kelsey, "Athens" and "Berlin" represent two very different—and ultimately irreconcilable—models of excellent education. In the case of de facto, says Kelsey, that modern North American theological education, for historical reasons, is committed to both models, resulting in ongoing tensions and struggles. Kelsey shows how a variety of significant thinkers—Newman, Niebuhr, Farley, Stackhouse, and several others—fit in the Athens-Berlin framework. In presenting a keen analysis of major themes and patterns of movement in the theological education debate, Between Athens and Berlin itself makes a significant contribution to the debate. (From the Publisher)
Journal Issue.
Journal Issue.
Linda Cannell served churches and theological schools in Canada for about twenty years before joining the faculty of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois in 1990. While at Trinity, she served as a professor of Educational Ministry and directed the PhD in Educational Studies program. She now serves as Lois W. Bennett Distinguished Professor of Educational Ministries at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. (From the Publisher)