Bible and Mission: Mission as Theological Education in Africa: 3. A Changing of the Guard in Theological Education for Mainline Denominations

Introduction

Decline in mainline, Protestant denominations in the West is matched by decline in their theological seminaries. We still live in a day when mainline theological seminaries in the West see themselves as superior to Evangelical theological seminaries in the West (which is demonstrably inaccurate even on agreed criteria of academic strengths). We also live in a day when seminaries in the West see themselves as far superior to theological education outside the West—which raises questions about the criteria used for ‘superiority’. Even just a cursory look at the numbers, though, shows the need to ask the question, ‘Who is going to carry theological education forward in the 21^st century?’ Putting questions about orthodoxy and health aside, the numbers themselves show that churches outside the West, like Evangelical churches in the West, are being put into the position of leadership in theological education and ministerial training in Protestantism.

The Episcopal Church in America and its Seminaries

To make this point, consider the case of the Episcopal Church in America. It once had a number of theological seminaries that were considered academically strong even if, increasingly, they were an engine for revision of orthodox convictions of the historic Church that has led to the denomination’s decline. As the denomination rapidly declines, the effect is also seen in the decline of the number of students in seminaries. One might contrast these numbers to Evangelical seminaries in the West, where student enrollment remains fairly consistent (though there are changes to take note of here as well). Yet the point here is that mainline denominations, present both in the West and outside the West, have their own story to tell. Decline in theological education in the West matches decline in membership, but the growth of these denominations outside the West does not match the growth of theological education outside the West for those denominations. There is something of a real crisis in Africa, for example, where the Anglican Church has been growing very fast but lay education and ministerial training lags well behind this growth.

Consider, then, the statistics for theological seminaries of the Episcopal Church in America. The statistics provided here are those reported to the accrediting agency, the Association of Theological Schools, for three academic years: 2002-2003, 2013-2014, and 2014-2015. The numbers given are for the head count (total number of students taking any course) and the full-time equivalency count (total number of students taking enough courses to qualify for full-time status in the academic year). Along with declining numbers, the reader should notice the low numbers of students, mergers, and even closures of seminaries.

Berkeley Divinity School (operates within Yale Divinity School—no statistics)

Bexley-Hall Seabury-Western Theological Seminary Federation, Inc.: