Certificate Features & Requirements

Certificate in Sexuality and Religion

The Certificate in Sexuality and Religion (CSR) is a professional development certificate providing specialized training in the intersections of sexuality, sexual orientation, gender identity, and religion. It is designed for participants from a wide variety of backgrounds, including:

• Seminary students, clergy and lay leaders, mostly from but not limited to Protestant and Catholic traditions, who want to be better equipped to lead the often painful conversations and important constructive actions required to advance the full inclusion of LGBT people within their faith communities.
• Journalists, counselors, psychologists, and other professionals whose work involves issues of sexuality and religion.
• LGBT activists and friends who want to become more articulate about religious issues and establish collaborative alliances with religious communities.

Program Goals

The CSR provides working professionals and students an opportunity to enhance their knowledge and leadership skills. The program helps participants to:

• Think theologically about contemporary sexual practices and identities.
• Understand the history of faith traditions concerning sexuality and gender identity.
• Speak knowledgeably about contemporary sexual practices and the scientific and psychological information relevant to them.
• Consider the historical and theological development of ethical systems used to evaluate and regulate moral judgments concerning various sexual practices and identities within faith traditions.
• Gain authority and expertise in leading discussions on issues of religion and sexuality both within faith traditions and within society more broadly.

CSR Courses

CSR students complete 21 credit hours including 9 hours of foundational courses, 9 hours of specialty courses, and 3 hours dedicated to a final project in their field of interest. Most CSR courses are scheduled in intensive formats during the summer and January sessions. Other classes are held on weekends or evenings during the regular fall and spring semesters. Many of these courses are available online as we hope to facilitate this education and training for long-distance learners.

CSR foundational courses focus on:

• Religious texts as they relate to sexual identity and gender expression, including attention to contemporary scientific and psychological understandings of sexuality.
• Theology, ethics, and sexual identity, including discussion of the limits and conditions of appropriate sexual conduct.
• History of sexuality/sexual orientation issues and religion.

Special Study Tracks

Specialty courses support four "tracks" of study in the CSR, including:

• Congregational Leadership, featuring such classes as Welcoming Christianities, Conflict Management, LGBT Worship and Ritual, Teaching the Bible and Sexuality in Communities, and Constructive Theologies and the LGBT Experience.
• Pastoral Care for LGBT People, with courses on Pastoral Care for LGBT People and Families, LGBT Worship and Rituals, Creating an Affirming Community, and Queer Youth in Crisis.
• Advocacy/Justice Work, focusing on Conflict Management, The Church and LGBT Concerns, Teaching the Bible and Sexuality in Communities, and LGBT Activism in Religious Movements and Denominations.
• A custom track designed for students with specific needs and interests.

A final project is undertaken by each student after course work is completed. The general focus is determined at the start of the program and is used to guide the student's work throughout the course of study.

CSR Faculty

CSR courses are taught by faculty from Pacific School of Religion and other Graduate Theological Union member schools. Some courses are offered by adjunct faculty selected by the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry.

Find out more:

• Enrollment Options & Costs
• Schedule of Courses
• Application & Registration
• Faculty

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