In a press conference held on June 9, leaders of the school formally announced the "University Project," which will involve the addition of programs to train Muslim imams and Jewish rabbis. Programs to train Buddhist and Hindu religious leaders are to be added in the future.
The school's Board of Trustees voted back in 2008 to inaugurate the program. A statement from the school explains that this vote "set in motion the University Project as a means to rethink classical models of theological education in an effort to promote interreligious cooperation and ethical integrity in the training of religious leaders for a variety of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and others."
David Roozen of the Institute for Religion Research at Hartford Theological Seminary told The Los Angeles Times that Claremont's plan is "really kind of a creative, bold move." He also suggested that liberal Protestants have been moving toward more expansive multifaith dialogue — a dialogue he described as on a continuum alongside race, gender, and sexual orientation. "Multifaith is the new ‘other,'" he told the paper. "It's kind of the next step."
The next step toward what? In a sense, the announcement from Claremont is indeed just a "next step" along a leftward progression set decades ago. Liberal Protestantism long ago grew embarrassed by the exclusive claims of biblical Christianity and the historic Christian faith. Adopting pluralist and inclusivist reconstructions of the faith, liberal theologians and theological schools have been pressing the margins for over a century now. Given that trajectory, a multifaith theological seminary was an inevitability — the only question was when and where it would happen.
Claremont answered that question this week. The University Project at Claremont is now to include programs to train Muslim clergy in cooperation with the Islamic Center of Southern California and programs to train Jewish rabbis in concert with the Academy for Jewish Religion-California.
As The Los Angeles Times reported, the Academy for Jewish Religion-California illustrates the predicament the new Claremont model is likely to encounter. Rabbi Mel Gottlieb, the Academy's president expressed his excitement about the Claremont plan, but the paper added: "The academy is open to Jews from all four of the major branches of the religion, but Gottlieb conceded that Orthodox Jewish graduates do not qualify for ordination as Orthodox rabbis, and few graduates wind up leading major congregations of any branch."
Those words point to the reality that the students who will be drawn to these programs will be, by definition, students who are looking for a multifaith theological education. The spirit of inclusion that underlies this project, and the larger ecumenical and interfaith movements, is an inclusion of the fellow liberal-minded.
It says a great deal that Orthodox Judaism already rejects graduates of this program for ordination as rabbis. It is even more telling that the paper reports that "few graduates end up leading major congregations of any branch."
The United Methodist Church is decidedly unexcited about the plans announced by the Claremont School of Theology. Earlier this year the denomination's University Senate voted to withhold its contribution to the school, citing "a substantial reorientation of the institution's mission." Nevertheless, the loss of this funding (approximately $800,000 this year) is offset by a $10 million pledge from others. Claremont President Jerry Campbell expressed optimism that the church would restore the school's funding.
