Prepare for Religious Leadership

For over fifty years, United Methodist-related Claremont School of Theology has trained professionals for the many forms of professional ministry and leadership. Throughout its history, Claremont has enjoyed a reputation for its world-renowned program in ecumenical theological education. The School has trained generations of pastors, chaplains, counselors, educators and other religious leaders for a lifetime of service to the church, to other religious bodies, and to society.

Today, Claremont's faculty continues to prepare ministerial students in professional fields, such as worship and preaching, spiritual care and counseling, religious education, leadership, evangelism, and ministry and the arts. These fields are closely integrated with the classical theological disciplines of biblical studies; religious history; ethics and society; and systematic, philosophical and practical theology. The faculty is also pioneering in emerging fields of research and practice, including multicultural worship, community ministries, narrative pedagogy, and eco-theology.

But exciting changes are emerging at Claremont. We are beginning a bold new experiment to become one of the world's first inter-religious theological universities. As this transformation proceeds, we will hold to the highest standards of religious scholarship and ministerial preparation. We do not believe that religion should be studied in a neutral or distanced way. Instead, we look for ways to enhance the positive roles that religions can play in society and in the world. Where religious beliefs and practices have become a source of dissent or harm, we seek to rectify the wrongs and reestablish its positive role in the world.

Over time, therefore, the theological university will add faculty from other religious traditions in addition to the Christian faculty already in place. This will create an educational environment in which students can extend the depth of their knowledge of their own tradition while expanding the breadth of their understanding of other traditions. The faculty expects that their graduates - including those called to Christian ministry - will work more effectively across religious divisions to help end conflict within the human family.

The School of Theology and Ministry, affiliated with The United Methodist Church, will be at the heart of this new theological university, and our community will continue to train Christians across the theological and ecclesiastical spectrum for ministry and leadership. Many of our students have experienced a call to ordained ministry and come to Claremont to acquire the skills they need to serve as parish pastors. Others are training for the full range of non-ordained service in the church. Still others are preparing for religious vocations outside the parish context: religious education, pastoral counseling, spiritual formation, urban ministries, community organizing, and cross-cultural ministries.

Claremont is a unique place for the study of theology and the training for ministry. We offer an education in scriptural studies and traditional orthodox theology that is second to none. At the same time, each student is encouraged to bring these resources to bear on the burning problems facing the church and the world today. The School also values the presence in our midst of practitioners from many of the world's great religious traditions as well as others who consider themselves to be seekers. Regardless of vocational goals, each student is educated in the multi-ethic, multi-cultural, interreligious context of today's world.

Those who have studied their own tradition and its scriptures in the complex, multi-religious context of our day have the potential to make a prophetic and transformative contribution to church and society. We invite you to join this dynamic, hope-filled educational community.