Jesus Creed
A recent article in CT by Sharon Hodde Miller calls attention to the gender gap in evangelical seminaries, where the ratio is not as good as one might think. Here is a clip, and I add the numbers:
1. According to the Association of Theological Schools, during the 2012-2013 school year women accounted for approximately 37 percent of Protestant seminary students. [37%]
2. However this statistic is somewhat misleading, as it includes fields of study outside of the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree, such as a master’s in counseling, in which women outnumber men. Among M.Div. students, women represented about 1 in 3 enrolled. [33%]
3. At evangelical seminaries, they make up just 1 in 5. [20%]
She goes on to probe this disparity:
Due to the dearth of research on the topic, we are left to hypothesize why so few women enroll in seminary. Perhaps the lack of job prospects is a deterrent: Why pay the tuition if you are not guaranteed a job afterwards? Or perhaps it is a matter of theology since some traditions discourage women from the pastorate on biblical grounds. Still, other churches support the idea of female leaders in principle, but simply fail to take the steps necessary to cultivate women’s gifts.
Combined, these factors produce a persistent minority of female, evangelical seminarians with a rather tumultuous seminary experience. Evangelical women who discern a call to seminary often find themselves without much community and without many resources. Whether or not they are seeking ordination, women report feeling ostracized by male classmates. Among the evangelical women I have interviewed, most experienced little interaction with the men in their classes, and were even treated as a sexual temptation.
This disparity is not at all apparent at Northern Seminary. Here our numbers: in total enrollment we are 56-44% and at the MDiv we are well above the norm at 60-40%. Why are women represented well at Northern? Northern has always supported women in ministry, our first MDiv student was a woman, our first graduating class included women, and I would want you to consider Northern as a seminary fully committed to supporting women who believe they are called to ministry.
Which leads me to mention that in less than a month I will begin teaching a course at Northern on this very subject. This summer at Northern Seminary I will teach a public-open course on Women in Ministry.
Here is a list of our summer offerings, and my course on Women in Ministry will be taught June 17-21. Here’s the official edu-scoop:
Women in Ministry will focus on understanding, recognizing and encouraging the gifts God has given to women in the church. The course will focus on biblical texts about women, both from the Old Testament and the New Testament, with particular concentration on problem passages. The course will also feature a section on husbands and wives and Christian marriage, developing how the Bible understands love. see also DM7110. 9:00 AM to 4:00 M June 17-21, 2013 (NT elective, Gen. elective)
If you are interested in this course, here is the contact information: http://www.seminary.edu/about/
To apply for the course begin the application process at www.seminary.edu/apply. You can audit the course, apply as a new student (at the masters or doctoral level), or transfer the credit back to your school if You are at another seminary. Northern Seminary alumni can take the course for free as part of Northern Seminary’s new Alumni Academy. There is an article about the alumni academy at http://www.seminary.edu/
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