THE UNIVERSITY PROJECT AT
CLAREMONT SCHOOL
OF THEOLOGY
Claremont School of Theology is engaged in a far-reaching and ambitious effort to transform the means by which religious leaders --including clergy, educators, scholars, counselors, and other religious figures -- are trained in contemporary American society.
Although religions in America are conceived and practiced for the betterment of the world in which we live, all too frequently our religions have served as divisive forces in American society and the world at large. In response to these realities, the Board of Trustees voted in March 2008 to set in motion the Claremont
University Project. as a means to rethink classical models of theological education in an effort to promote interreligious cooperation and ethical integrity in the training of religious leaders for a variety of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and others.
 We envision a model of theological education in which students are educated rigorously and intensively in their own religious traditions and in contact with the other religious traditions that are thriving throughout our society. We aim to instill our students with a strong sense of their own religious identities and the integrity of the religious traditions that they represent, while simultaneously teaching them to recognize the legitimacy and integrity of the other religious traditions which they will encounter at Claremont and the world beyond.
By teaching students to recognize the integrity of their own traditions as well as the integrity of other traditions, we will graduate religious leaders who are well-prepared to recognize and cooperate with other religious traditions that can play important roles in addressing the needs of our contemporary worldd.
Our Methodist Roots
Claremont School of Theology has functioned as a Methodist theological school since its foundation in 1885 as the MaClay College of Theology in San Fernando (1885-1900) and later as the University of Southern California School of Religion (1900-1956). Since moving to Claremont in 1957, it has continued to be engaged in the preparation of ministers for The United Methodist Church and other Protestant denominations as well as scholars for the broader religious world and academy. Throughout its history, Claremont School of Theology as been recognized for its ecumenical and interreligious outlook and for its rigorous academic training.
As the founding partner of the Claremont University Project, Claremont School of Theology will continue to prepare clergy and leaders for The United Methodist Church and other traditions within Christianity. But it will also develop a consortium that clusters several collaborating graduate schools and centers around a religiously focused University. Our partners will likewise train religious leaders in their respective traditions (Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.). In addition to the schools devoted to the training of religious leaders, we envision additional schools within the University devoted to a variety of academic disciplines, including:
- the School of Scriptural Studies
- the School of Ethics, Politics, and Society
- the School of World Spiritualities and the Healing Arts
- the School of Cultures, Religions, and Theologies in Process
- an Institute of Life-long Learning
Each of these schools (with the exception of Life-long Learning) will offer the Ph.D. and M.A. to train scholars for academic, religious, and community service.
We are convinced that by studying, working and praying together, people of diverse religious backgrounds will be better prepared for cooperative leadership, service, and study in a world that needs repair.
President Jerry Campbell is interested in your thoughts about these
statements and would appreciate your comments via email atpresident@cst.edu or on his blog, "The President's
Pen."
|
