Seminary

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Seminary

A seminary is a specialized and usually live-in university-like institution for the purpose of instructing students (seminarians) in philosophy, theology, spirituality and the religious life, usually in order to prepare them to become members of the clergy. The word is taken from the Latin seminarium, translated as seed-bed. The term seminary usually, though not always, applies to Christian and Jewish education for clergy.

History of Seminaries

The establishment of modern seminary institutions was a direct result of Roman Catholic reforms of the Counter-Reformation after the Council of Trent which insisted on the improvement of the education of clergy through the creation of seminaries as live-in instutions under the direct control of senior clergy. This later led, when literacy was not universal, to the creation of minor seminaries to educate young boys for the priesthood. The Tridentine model of seminary was one of a live in, almost monastic community where lifestyle and prayer habits were carefully monitored and corrected as a means to reforming pre-Reformation abuses among the clergy. The seminary institutions were in contrast to the freer intellectual atmosphere of the Universities. The tridentine seminaries placed great emphasis on personal discipline as well as the teaching of philosophy as a preparation for theology; an approach that was explicitly rejected by Protestant reformers such as John Calvin.

The Tridentine model of seminary has since been adopted and adapted by other Christian denominations as well as by modern American Judaism, though now in a more open fashion than the Tridentine model, and often without the Catholic emphasis on the pre-requisite study of philosophy and the Catholic requirement to live on campus within the Christian community of the seminary.

Minor Seminaries

In post-Reformation Europe, and in modern nations where literacy is not yet universal, Minor Seminaries often exist as Church-funded high schools to prepare younger boys for later entry into adult seminary education. The stated purposes of minor seminaries include ensuring a high standard of literacy, numeracy and humanities in potential students for the priesthood as well as exemplary instruction and modelling in prayer, worship and ethical behaviour. Minor seminaries are also being re-established by Tridentine rite catholics in the modern United States.

Formation and Education

While the Tridentine seminary model was one of in-house "formation", modern seminary institutions now sometimes co-exist with theological colleges, such as in the United Kingdom, where they are the live-in college of another tertiary institution. In this case the Academic Institutions are typically called a school of theology or divinity school. They usually offer undergraduate and graduate degrees (such as the Bachelor of Theology, S.T.B., M.Div., Th.M., D.Min., etc.).

Bible colleges provide a different type of religious education, specifically excluding the study of philosophy and systematic theology, and are often focussed on the undergraduate level, being either evangelical or fundamentalist in orientation. Such institutions may also focus more on lay education. Some accredited Roman Catholic seminaries have their degrees conferred by a Pontifical University and through the Vatican Congregation for Seminaries and Universities.

Although the primary purpose of a seminary is to prepare and equip candidates for religious service in the church or synagogue—congregational leadership—many people not intending to become such leaders may study in seminaries. Qualifications may be obtained majoring in pastoral work and similar fields, as well as in the more academic disciplines.

Many monks and nuns attend a seminary to enhance their qualifications. It is also quite common for lay people to study in a seminary to enhance their spiritual life, to explore academic interests, or to prepare for non-ordained ministries (for example, choir directors or Sunday school teachers).

Many Christian denominations cooperate in providing theological education for students preparing for ordination and a number of consortia or other cooperative arrangements have been established, for example in Australia there are the Melbourne and Adelaide Colleges of Divinity and the Australian College of Theology comprising a number of seminaries working together.

Accreditation and state laws

In the United States, besides regional accreditors to approve academics in seminaries there are four, major religious accreditors. These are the Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools, the Association for Biblical Higher Education, the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, and the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. These four groups are recognized as legitimate accreditors by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Depending on the specific applicable state laws, it can be illegal to use the name "seminary" and issue degrees without meeting minimum standards. In 2005, Tyndale Theological Seminary was fined $173,000 for just these reasons of using the name "seminary" and issuing 34 degrees.Regarding this matter, Christianity Today explained that Kenneth Hemphill of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary showed no sympathy for Tyndale who described "we are a conservative, confessional institution, and we have not found that our accreditation has caused us to compromise our biblical convictions." Furthermore, "we have found accreditation valuable in that it provides accountability for the institution and credibility for those looking for graduate theological work. It is important to have standards of quality."^*

The state of Washington passed a bill in March 2006 "prohibiting false or misleading college degrees." (The text is ^*

In Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom it is a criminal offence to issue university degrees without authorization through an act of federal or state parliament.^*^*^*

Youth seminaries

The word seminary is also applied by Mormons to a school of religious education for children that accompanies normal secular education. An example of this is the seminary education system of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which provides extended study of theology and religious text throughout the school week, in addition to normal Sunday classes. These types of seminaries schedule classes before or after regular school time, or negotiate agreed "release time" permits with the nearest public school districts to allow students to voluntarily leave school grounds for an allotted amount of time (usually one class period) to receive seminary education. In predominantly LDS communities, LDS seminary facilities are commonly built on Church-owned properties that immediately neighbor the grounds of state-owned public schools, allowing individual students to simply walk between school and seminary during their scheduled release time. These arrangements work to ease the integration of secular and religious study into a child's school day without inappropriately (or illegally) violating the separation of church and state in secular society. In some cases, especially in states other than Utah, seminary is held before school. This is referred to as "early morning seminary" and is often held at a member's house or another building. Early morning seminary is very common when there are not enough Mormon members that attend the local school to justify building a seminary classroom.

Teaching seminaries

In some countries, the term seminary is also used for secular, mostly state-owned schools that train teachers. While the function of the teaching seminaries and religious seminaries is different, the terminology has not changed (compare the use of "dean" in education and the use of the term "dean" in religion). Teacher seminaries of the 19th century also employed stringent discipline and required impeccable behavior. In Nordic countries with a Lutheran state religion, there was little ambiguity, as the training of Lutheran priests was the duty of theology departments of the state universities.

When founded in the 19th century, teacher seminaries enrolled primary school graduates, but gradually the requirements were increased until, in the middle of the 20th century, the requirement was raised to high school diploma. At the same time, most teacher seminaries in the Nordic countries were incorporated into universities as part of their education colleges. Some–most notably the Seminary of Jyväskylä, Finland–formed the basis of entire universities.

External links

Code of Canon Law (1983), IntraText edition with referenced concordance, hosted by the Vatican
Database for Accreditation in the United States (CHEA)
Database for Accreditation in the United States (USDE)
Database for Accreditation in the United Kingdom
Database for Accreditation in Australia
199 Foundation of St Joseph's Minor Seminary in the USA
City Seminary of Sacramento

School types | Seminaries and theological colleges | Unaccredited seminaries and theological colleges | Church architecture

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