Apply Now

Staff Sign In

Search the GTU

    Displaying 1 - 20 of 284
    Basic Page

    Past Programs

    Regional Consultations Pilot theological workshops to develop “base” theological communities and to engage theologians throughout Asia to share their visions of theological education were held in Singapore, Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, India, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, and American Samoa between 2005 and 2007. Specific issues arose from these regional consultations such as han in Korea, dalit in India, and decolonization of Christianity in Indonesia.  About 100 participants attended these consultations. In March 2007, another consultation was held...
    Asia Project
    Basic Page

    Saving Paradise

    Rita Nakashima BrockThe 2004 GTU Convocation Address Copyrighted Material. Do not use without author’s permission: rita@everyvoice.org Dr. Brock is visiting scholar at the Starr King School for the Ministry, and director of Lift Every Voice!, a project devoted to promoting the voices of progressive Christians in the public sphere. She lectures widely, is active in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and is the author of several books, including 2001's Proverbs of Ashes:...
    Basic Page

    Parking and Transportation

    As with housing, parking is at a premium in Berkeley.  All parking near the GTU is either metered or requires a residential permit in order to park for more than two hours.  If you must drive, try to carpool and be prepared to park at some distance and walk.  (Remember that we are located on a hill.)  If you can take public transportation, we encourage you to do so. GTU and member school staff and faculty members pay for parking spaces in the lot behind/to the north of the GTU LeConte Building.  Three spaces are reserved for vans that shuttle between GTU and SFTS.  Students living in the GTU...
    Life at GTU
    Basic Page

    Help - Paragraph Examples

    Most images can take a caption!
    Most complex pages on the website are built using a set of building blocks called paragraphs.  A paragraph can be a block of text content, a full width image or a slideshow, teaser boxes with links and buttons that point to other pages, etc.  Pages are built out of these building blocks, which keeps the sections separate and reorganizable, as well as making sure that all content is well-structured and looks good on every page. The following are examples of each type of paragraph, to give you a sense of the what you can do and how.
    Basic Page

    Margaret Palmer Taylor Collection of Sacred Dance

    Margaret Palmer (1908-2004) was a pioneer in sacred dance in America. Born in Oakland, California, she was a daughter of a Congregational minister. The family moved to Honolulu in 1917, where she learned creative dance in school. She continued to study dance, and earned her B.A. at Oberlin College in 1930, later attending Chicago Theological Seminary, 1931-32. Her first husband, Chester B. Fisk, was a minister, and Margaret began to incorporate sacred dance in the church worship services. She continued to expand her dancing, organizing rhythmic choirs and teaching in workshops, festivals,...
    Library
    Basic Page

    The Subliminal Messages of Mel Gibson’s Passion

    David Biale, Emmanuel Ringelblum Professor of Jewish History at UC Davis By now, as much ink has been spilled on the “Gospel According to Mel Gibson” as the copious blood his Christ spills in the movie. The world is now divided between those religiously moved by it – and the rest of us, a Manichean division that confirms Gibson’s view of the world and one that he has worked so hard to promote. Gibson’s professions notwithstanding, his Jesus is not a figure that unites, but one that divides. As a Jew asked to comment on this movie, I find myself placed willy-nilly in the traditional...
    Basic Page

    Stitching Hope and Beauty in Pamplona Alta

    Student Stories Stitching Hope and Beauty in Pamplona Alta A stack of colorful cuadros — Spanish for “pictures” — sits on Rebecca Berru Davis’ sofa. They are hand-appliquéd and embroidered textile scenes created by a cooperative of women artists in Pamplona Alta, a shantytown outside Lima, Peru. Davis, a third-year Graduate Theological Union doctoral student in the area of Art and Religion, has just returned from her third trip to Pamplona Alta since 2006. For these cuadros, Davis asked the women to sew scenes that expressed their hopes and dreams. One artist sewed pictures of animals —...
    Basic Page

    Previewing Mel Gibson’s “Passion”: An essay by Michael Morris

    Previewing Mel Gibson’s “Passion” by Michael Morris, O.P.Dominican School of Philosophy and TheologyProfessor of Religion and the Arts In September of 2002, I presented a paper with slides to the Magnificat Congress held at the Hilton Hotel in New York City. The subject of that paper was the impact of the visions of the 19th century mystic Anne Catherine Emmerich upon the arts, particularly in her graphic account of the Passion of Christ. It was a topic in which I had long been interested, both as an art historian and as a priest. Afterward, a knowledgeable and well...
    Basic Page

    Comments on Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ

    Margaret Miles, GTU Emerita Dean and Professor of Historical Theology I would like to begin by setting our discussion this evening in context. Let us remind ourselves of the obvious: The Passion of the Christ is a movie. It is not a window on, nor a mirror of, reality. We, watching it, are spectators. As spectators, we do not see a movie as if for the first time. We are trained by our many viewing experiences to expect and respond to several film conventions. A number of learned responses are activated as soon as the theater darkens. The first of these is detachment. You are...
    Basic Page

    Schools and Centers

    The Graduate Theological Union, created in 1962, is a consortium of interdependent theological schools, centers, and affiliates committed to collaboration with one another in order to offer a stronger graduate degree program than any single institution could offer alone.
    About the GTU
    Basic Page

    Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences

    Over its 35-year history, the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) has distinguished itself as a world leader in the field of theology and science. Our continued success depends on the generous support of individuals who share our mission to bridge theology and science, and there is much important work to be done. Each gift you make to the GTU's Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences directly supports this mission and helps ensure that it will continue in the future. CTNS Fund Choices Each of the four funds listed below provides support for essential CTNS programming...
    Basic Page

    Center for Islamic Studies MA Program Celebrates First Year Anniversary

    “Launching a new program is always challenging. But we engaged many exceptional partners and were blessed with outstanding students. Everyone brought something to the table; everyone wanted it to work. It was a winning proposition all around and none of this would have been possible without the generosity of the Henry Luce Foundation and the Social Science Research Council.” That’s what Center for Islamic Studies (CIS) Director Munir Jiwa says about the first year of the center’s M.A. program in Islamic Studies, which last year had five students, seven affiliated and adjunct faculty, and...
    Basic Page

    The Center for Women and Religion Collection

            From left, CWR Directors, Mary Cross and Barbara Waugh, Diane Darling, no name, Jean Richardson, Kathleen Smith, Diann Neu, and Joanne Eakin, Front, Christine Lesley and Anne Stinely. 1979-80.   Center for Women and Religion at the GTU was the earliest established center for women in theological education. It was founded in 1970 as the Office of Women's Affairs by Bay Area women in religion, including some GTU women, who recognized "that seminary women at the GTU schools needed a channel, an advocate...
    Library
    Basic Page

    Support the Center for Islamic Studies

    Thank you for your support of The Center for Islamic Studies at the GTU! We rely upon the support of friends like you to provide students the opportunities to learn and apply their knowledge. During the blessed season of Ramadan,  we ask that you make a gift to support the Center for Islamic Studies, and the students here who pursue work that challenges and counters Islamophobia and enhances interreligious understanding. Your gift is zakat-eligible, and will provide financial aid to students in need enrolled at CIS. Please also consider making a sustaining gift...
    GivingThe Center for Islamic Studies (CIS)
    Giving Tuesday
    Basic Page

    Around the GTU: News from GTU Schools and Centers

    New President at SFTS The SFTS Board of Trustees recently announced the appointment of the Rev. Dr. Philip Butin as the 10th president of the seminary. Dr. Butin, a scholar on the doctrine of the trinity, has served since 1993 as pastor at a Presbyterian church in New Mexico, where he co-founded an statewide ecumenical theological education program. He takes office at SFTS on July 1, 2002.   Renovation Recharges Seminary The buildings of academia sometimes signify what institutions value most: their history. In the halls of columned campuses and ivy-covered edifices, preservation of the past...
    Basic Page

    Visiting Scholars at the Center for Islamic Studies

    Mark Massoud, PhD (Assoc. Prof of Politics and Legal Studies, UC Santa Cruz) Mellon Visiting Scholar 2017-2018 focusing on Religion, Theology, Law Jessica Chen, PhD (Stanford University, Islamic Studies and Chinese Religions), CIS Visiting Scholar 2017-2018 focusing on Muslim-Buddhist Dialogue Kei Takahashi, PhD (Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan 2016-2017) Carol Bier, Research Scholar (Islamic Art and Mathematics, 2010-present) Ahmed Zildzic, PhD (Oriental Institute, Sarajevo, 2013-2015) Berney Adeney-Risakotta, PhD (ICRS, Indonesia, 2009-2010) Mahan Mirza, PhD (Chico...
    The Center for Islamic Studies (CIS)
    Basic Page

    Courses at the Mira and Ajay Shingal Center for Dharma Studies

    The Graduate Theological Union, through the Mira and Ajay Shingal Center for Dharma Studies and in cooperation with several GTU member schools, offers introductory and advanced courses in Hindu theology, ethics, philosophy, culture, arts, Diaspora, and religious practice. The following list consists of courses within the GTU consortium. Courses at the University of California, Berkeley, are also available to students at GTU’s Center for Dharma Studies.   Fall 2016 Courses   Instructor: Rita Sherma HRST-2051: Hermeneutics: Hindu Critiques...
    Basic Page

    Women's Studies - Certificate Requirements

    The Women’s Studies in Religion certificate program is designed so it is possible to complete the requirements in a single year; however, students are welcome to take more time to finish. Students must be enrolled at the GTU or a member school in order to start the certificate program, but may complete the requirements after they graduate.
    Women's Studies in Religion
    Basic Page

    BCARS - Certificate Requirements

    All students enrolled at the GTU or any of its member schools are eligible to register for the BC/ARS Certificate. Upon successful completion of the requirements students will be awarded the certificate. Students register for the Certificate by filling out an “Intent to Enroll” form (also available through member school registrars).  Students will submit the “Intent to Enroll” to an administrative support person who will manage the BC/ARS records. This person will be designated to do this by the GTU Dean.  Upon completion of all the requirements, the student...
    Black Church/Africana Religious Studies
    Basic Page

    Certificate Programs and Other Study Options

    The GTU offers a variety of certificate programs designed for students who either want to explore theological study for a year before embarking upon a degree program, or who want to add an additional area of expertise to their degree. For some this is for a discernment opportunity, for others a way to enhance learning.  As these are graduate certificates, students entering must hold an accredited bachelor’s degree. All applicants must submit official transcripts from institutions in which a degree was earned to the Admissions office. International students who have not earned...
    Academics