# The first truly multi-faith American seminary for Christians, Muslims, Jews, & more



## SolaGratia (Jun 9, 2010)

Excerpt Below:

In a bow to the growing diversity of America's religious landscape, the Claremont School of Theology, a Christian institution with long ties to the Methodist Church, will add clerical training for Muslims and Jews to its curriculum this fall, to become, in a sense, the first truly multi-faith American seminary.

The transition, which is being formally announced Wednesday, upends centuries of tradition in which seminaries have hewn not just to single faiths but often to single denominations within those faiths. Eventually, Claremont hopes to add clerical programs for Buddhists and Hindus.


Link: Claremont seminary reaches beyond Christianity - latimes.com


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## raekwon (Jun 9, 2010)

Interesting idea. They'll inevitably require students on the "Christianity" track or the "Islam" track or the "Judaism" track, etc, to take a course or two from every other track. Sooner or later, we'll be seeing all sorts of NEW types of syncretism never before imagined, I'm sure.


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## Steve Curtis (Jun 9, 2010)

If John Hick is still there, I'm sure that his courses will be quite palatable to the Muslims, Jews, etc. When an institution's premier scholars are rabidly anti-orthodox, why shouldn't they just admit to being what they alreadly are?


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## SemperEruditio (Jun 9, 2010)

I think it's a great idea IF they were to teach the orthodox views of each faith. I would love to sit in a systematic-theology type class on Islam. To engage fellow students openly about their faith and truly dialogue. However I believe it will be the school's version of Christianity which based on this decision has to be an ubber liberal version and many of the Christian "track" students will be more confused than when they started.


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## DMcFadden (Jun 9, 2010)

The home of post Bultmannian scholarship during the last part of the 20th century, the teaching outpost for decades for America's most famous process theologian (John Cobb), Claremont (in the back yard of where I grew up in So. Cal) has long been the bastion of left of left leftness. This does not surprise me at all. Soon, it will have a Buddhist (or Hindu, or Dawkins-Hitchens style atheist) at the helm. Like so many of the innovative "progressive" seminaries in America, they excel at "womynist" studies, GLBT sensitivity, etc.

I have a friend who is head of a multi-faith syncretistic organization with Cobb on his board. My friend thinks that Claremont has been a pioneer in moving beyond the parochial "only one way to God" "clap trap" of conservative Christianity.


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## Semper Fidelis (Jun 9, 2010)

Functionally speaking, many Seminaries have operated as multi-faith Seminaries for decades. This one just has the integrity to note it.


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## DMcFadden (Jun 9, 2010)

Rich, how true! However, not too many of them advertize themselves as places to train for Jewish, or Hindu, or whatever "clergy" alongside of Protestants.

In the Berkeley area, the closest thing to this would be the Graduate Theological Union. It is made up of 9 separate schools : American Baptist Seminary of the West; Church Divinity School of the Pacific; Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology; Franciscan School of Theology; Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University; Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary; Pacific School of Religion; San Francisco Theological Seminary; Starr King School for the Ministry. That gives you a range from several flavors of Roman Catholic to Lutheran, to Presbyterian, to Unitarian-Universalists. They have cross-registration privileges for their students to take classes from various of the traditions. Yes, they have a "center" for Jewish and Islamic studies but this pales in comparison with the Claremont model where you bring Christian and non-Christian religions into the same academic institution.


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## MarieP (Jun 9, 2010)

SemperEruditio said:


> I think it's a great idea IF they were to teach the orthodox views of each faith. I would love to sit in a systematic-theology type class on Islam. To engage fellow students openly about their faith and truly dialogue. However I believe it will be the school's version of Christianity which based on this decision has to be an ubber liberal version and many of the Christian "track" students will be more confused than when they started.


 
Of course, there's no neutral ground on these matters. That's why so many universities will allow for "orthodox" teaching on any religion except Christianity. The teachings of Buddha, Confucius, and even Muhammad are no threat to those who love their sin. It's the doctrine of Christ that they hate.


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## Curt (Jun 9, 2010)

Pagans acting like pagans.


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (Jun 9, 2010)

My question would be can I eat meat made in their cafeteria?


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## KMK (Jun 9, 2010)

It won't be long before conservative churches will require their prospective pastors NOT to have a seminary degree.


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## Andres (Jun 10, 2010)

Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> My question would be can I eat meat made in their cafeteria?


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## Ask Mr. Religion (Jun 10, 2010)

DMcFadden said:


> Rich, how true! However, not too many of them advertize themselves as places to train for Jewish, or Hindu, or whatever "clergy" alongside of Protestants.
> 
> In the Berkeley area, the closest thing to this would be the Graduate Theological Union. It is made up of 9 separate schools : ....*Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University*...



Yup. Been there. Done that. Sigh.

AMR


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## Willem van Oranje (Jun 10, 2010)

SolaGratia said:


> Excerpt Below:
> 
> In a bow to the growing diversity of America's religious landscape, the Claremont School of Theology, a Christian institution with long ties to the Methodist Church, will add clerical training for Muslims and Jews to its curriculum this fall, to become, in a sense, the first truly multi-faith American seminary.
> 
> ...


 
Harvard Divinity School requires theology students to have practised or "tried" more than one religion or faith.


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## SemperEruditio (Jun 10, 2010)

MarieP said:


> SemperEruditio said:
> 
> 
> > I think it's a great idea IF they were to teach the orthodox views of each faith. I would love to sit in a systematic-theology type class on Islam. To engage fellow students openly about their faith and truly dialogue. However I believe it will be the school's version of Christianity which based on this decision has to be an ubber liberal version and many of the Christian "track" students will be more confused than when they started.
> ...



Unfortunately so many of us are trained up in relativism from birth and can have contradictions in every facet of our life and not blink an eye. 




Willem van Oranje said:


> SolaGratia said:
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> > Excerpt Below:
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Well Harvard isn't the pinnacle of theology. They also have a "humanist" chaplain which is essentially an atheist chaplain...now figure that one out.


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## MarieP (Jun 10, 2010)

Willem van Oranje said:


> SolaGratia said:
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> > Excerpt Below:
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I was born practicing pelagianistic moralism...


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## DMcFadden (Jun 10, 2010)

SemperEruditio said:


> MarieP said:
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> > SemperEruditio said:
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Yes, the university does have a humanist chaplain. But don't forget my fav . . . Dr. Peter Gomes, openly gay American Baptist (my old denomination). He is a luminary around the divinity school with his 30 honorary degrees in addition to his earned ones. To be black, gay, uber-liberal, and brilliant makes him a standout, even at Harvard. [Sigh . . .]


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