Religious Institute Lists Sexually Healthy and Responsible Seminaries
The Religious Institute has expanded its list of the Most Sexually Healthy and Responsible Seminaries, listing Boston University School of Theology as one of the seminaries that is ” the vanguard in ensuring that tomorrow’s clergy are prepared to minister to their congregants, and to be effective advocates for sexual health and justice.”
The Religious Institute is a multifaith organization dedicated to advocating for sexual health, education, and justice in faith communities and society. In 2009, it published a survey of 36 U.S. seminaries and found that most of them did not provide “sufficient opportunities for study, self-assessment, and ministerial formation in sexuality,” important skills and knowledge that most faith leaders will need as they go into ministry.
Religious Institute found that most future clergy can graduate without taking a sexuality course and that courses focusing on sexuality-related issues are often absent from curriculum and degree requirements. The report also saw a need for “full inclusion policies” for women and LGBT persons and noted that women and feminist studies are much more prevalent than courses in other areas of sexuality.
In 2012, Religious Institute added STH to its list of seminaries that meet its criteria for “sexually healthy and responsible.” This criteria includes:
- Required coursework on human sexuality and healthy professional boundaries.
- Regularly scheduled course offerings on sexuality issues, including courses on sexual ethics, LGBTQ theology, women in religious traditions and faith communities, and sexual abuse and domestic violence.
- Inclusion of sexuality topics in introductory and core courses
The report also lists, among other criteria, a commitment to gender, racial/ethnic, and sexual diversity in its student body, faculty, staff and leadership, and a commitment to inclusive language in worship and in the classroom.
An STH sexuality course, Queer Theology, was profiled by BU Today in 2014. Other course offerings include Topics in Religion and Sexuality and Theologies of Sexual Identity. STH Lifelong Learning also offered an online course in partnership with Religious Institute: Sexuality Issues for Christian Religious Professionals.