This article argues that three dimensions of relevance can be identified for the academic study of religion as it is taught at the university: (1) Foundations; (2) General Education; and (3) Application. The analytical distinction of these dimensions also reveals that they are inextricably linked and co-dependent. This model may help to sort out…

This article is about the death of a graduate school for spiritual formation and theological education. I ask what the death of this school can teach us about teaching theology and religion for the sake of student transformation and more loving pedagogies. I also ask how, when an institution dies, it can die beautifully. The underlying thesis of…

Hindu sacred scriptures are a rich interweave of cosmological revelation that is embedded in melopoeia (melodic poetry) and sung in designated meters during rituals, liturgical services, festivals, and personal prayers. Revelation is conveyed through enigmatic dialogues, debates, parables, anecdotes, legends, and narratives. These occur between…

Acting within a complex authority structure marked by shared governance, the governing boards of higher education institutions serve as the legal body holding ultimate responsibility for the institution's identity, mission, and institutional health. The past and current experience of Protestant theological schools has revealed institutional…

The American College of St Maurice at Münster in Westphalia was founded in 1867 to train priests for the Catholic missions in the United States. This paper outlines the history of this short-lived educational institutions (1867-1879), with particular focus on the 68 seminarians, who attended this theological seminary for their pastoral formation,…

Theological education faces the task of forming leaders and scholars with the capacity for personal and social transformation. This effort requires a deeper understanding of habit formation as both problem and potential. Utilizing the example of how racism functions through embodied habits, this article emphasizes bodily awareness and repeated…

This study aimed to determine the level of self-awareness and personal responsibility among seminary students. It also investigated the correlation between self-awareness and personal responsibility. A qualitative approach was followed, whereby formators and seminarians were interviewed, to complement the main data collected by distributing…

The purpose of this descriptive, quantitative study was to determine whether any relationship exists between prayer frequency, intellectual humility, and select demographic variables of current SBC seminary students. Prior research related to prayer in the U.S. has shown that the higher an individual's level of education, the lower their frequency…

Rapidly increasing demand for online graduate education in our globalized, post-pandemic, "flat" (Freidman 2007), digital age has coalesced globally dispersed and culturally diverse learners into virtual classrooms, amplifying a multiplicity of voices. Social learning theory (Bandura 1977) emphasizes that knowledge is constructed between…

This paper addresses a surprising phenomenon in the evangelical theological classroom. Evangelical theological students often approach theology as an exclusively analytic subject, failing to use imaginative criteria in "doing theology." Specifically, they fail to use their literary imaginations or what some call narrative imagination.…

The goal is to shine light theologically on the role of transformational leadership in the missional church. What concepts about pneumatological discipleship, influence, power, authority, and transformational leadership suit a radically missional church? Radical missional challenges demand new notions about servant and transformational leadership.…

Although the goals of consensus-based decision-making (CBDM) and the academic theological classroom are quite distinct (most notably that in the classroom, there is no need to come to a group decision), both share the aim of honoring all voices and perspectives and ensuring that marginalized voices and experiences are elevated. It is an important…

Do religious educators as administrators make for better agents of change? As more religious educators come into administrative positions in theological higher education, this article probes the religious educator and change. The article begins by examining religious education and its aims. It then offers different change theories and subsequently…

This article follows the movements of educational imagination articulated by the late scholar of religious education Maria Harris to offer musings on academic leadership that attempts a decolonial turn for enduring change in theological education. With stylistic and thought experimentations, the essay identifies challenges besieging administrative…

This article explores the delivery and pedagogy of initial ministerial training for lay and ordained candidates in the Church in Wales by its training arm, the St. Padarn's Institute. I discuss how logistical challenges force us into a more pragmatic approach where practical considerations are as influential as philosophical and pedagogical…