This article argues that three dimensions of relevance can be identified for the academic study of religion as it is taught at the university: (1) Foundations; (2) General Education; and (3) Application. The analytical distinction of these dimensions also reveals that they are inextricably linked and co-dependent. This model may help to sort out…

Acting within a complex authority structure marked by shared governance, the governing boards of higher education institutions serve as the legal body holding ultimate responsibility for the institution's identity, mission, and institutional health. The past and current experience of Protestant theological schools has revealed institutional…

Do religious educators as administrators make for better agents of change? As more religious educators come into administrative positions in theological higher education, this article probes the religious educator and change. The article begins by examining religious education and its aims. It then offers different change theories and subsequently…

This article follows the movements of educational imagination articulated by the late scholar of religious education Maria Harris to offer musings on academic leadership that attempts a decolonial turn for enduring change in theological education. With stylistic and thought experimentations, the essay identifies challenges besieging administrative…

This study presents the experiences of Latino/a faculty and administrators in Hispanic seminaries or departments at white-dominated higher education institutions. The narratives reflect that the underrepresentation of Latino leadership in Hispanic seminaries creates an environment of rejection with religious overtones. The concept derived from the…

Drawing from research in the field of higher education more broadly, this article describes how graduate theological education continues to experience a seismic shift. The in-person, residential college experience is no longer the only option for students today, and many are gravitating toward taking courses and programs online. However, there is…

This chapter provides insight into the challenges facing higher education and provides a rationale for redesign along with effective strategies and management approaches, based upon the case study experience of Winebrenner Theological Seminary in Findlay, Ohio.

We are living through a time of uncertainty and change in which our educational priorities can be re-ordered. A time during which what it means to teach and learn in theology and religious studies can be a vivid and powerful resource to our wider contexts. We are living in a time of context collapse. Narrative is one key route to engaging and…

The purpose of this research was to discover the level of intentionality to stimulate Christian formation in the context of fully online undergraduate baccalaureate Bible education at ABHE schools. Since ABHE affirms transformational education as part of its institutional mission, it seemed apparent that this goal should be manifested in the…

This paper uses a critical pedagogical lens for evaluating North American theological education within Black and Brown communities. A Latin American epistemology, exemplified in Freire's (2000) concept of "conscientização," is highlighted throughout. Four major pedagogical themes from Latin American Liberation Theology are applied to…

This study addresses current trends in theological higher education by proposing a potentially viable mechanism for institutional reform, namely the Montessori method. Although Maria Montessori is widely known as an early childhood educator, this study suggests that her approach aligns quite well with the telos of theological education, the…

Working with normative considerations is an important part of empirical research in religious education (RE) and in the formation of practical theologians, in general, and of religious educators in RE faculties/programs, in particular. What does sufficient reflection on normativity look like in teaching religious educators? From a practical…

The focus of this qualitative case study was to examine the pre-COVID-19 church attendance decline of all generations in the United States. The problem addressed in this qualitative case study was the current church exodus among multiple generations of attendees and its impact for church leaders. The purpose of this case study was to examine…

Emotional Intelligence (EI) may be more important to the success of college students than cognitive intelligence and technical skills combined. Recent research has primarily focused on EI in the workplace. However, implications for improving EI skills of college undergraduate students before they enter the workforce appears to be lacking. This…

Debates about Catholic higher education in the United States sometimes focus too much on what Catholic colleges and universities should not do, rather than what they should do. This article attempts to reframe those debates away from the negative expressions of Catholic identity (i.e., denying guests a right to speak on campus based on their level…