The State of Theological Education 2021 Part 2 PGE 43



This episode is Part 2 of a conversation with Dean Emilie Townes of Vanderbilt Divinity School, Dean Kelly Brown Douglas of the Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary, and Associate Dean Karen Massey at Mercer University McAfee School of Theology on the state of theological education. Throughout the conversation, we have been using Willie James Jennings’s book, After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging, as a reference. Dr. Jennings is the former dean of Yale Divinity School.

In Part 1, my guests told of their own experiences in theological education and in taking on leadership responsibility for an institution of theological education. They also provided their own assessment of the state of theological education.

In this episode, Part 2, my guests describe how theological education is being done in each of their institutions in terms of curriculum design, in light of the decline of Christianity in the United States, and in the experience of the Covid pandemic. They conclude by offering their thoughts on what conversations still need to occur about theological education as we move forward into the future.

The music for this episode is from a clip of a song called ‘Father Let Your Kingdom Come’ which is found on The Porter’s Gate Worship Project Work Songs album and is used by permission by The Porter’s Gate Worship Project. You can learn more about the album and the Worship Project at theportersgate.com.