So says a report released today. Seminarians might be having it, but they aren’t talking about it. The Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing surveyed 36 seminaries and rabbinical schools, and found that ministers-to-be are woefully under-prepared for dealing with one of the most central issues in their congregants’ lives:
- More than 90% of the seminaries surveyed do not require full-semester, sexuality-based courses for graduation.
- Two-thirds of the seminaries do not offer a course in sexuality issues for religious professionals. Three-quarters do not offer a course in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) studies.
- Seminaries offer three times as many courses in women’s and feminist studies as they do in LGBT studies or other sexuality-related issues.
The report also makes recommendations for what schools should do to adequately prepare their students for a life where they will undoubtedly be called upon to minister to people’s sexual lives. It calls for a range of basic offerings–courses, workshops–and an atmosphere that acknowledges just how core sexuality is to our experience of the world.
I’m very much in support of this kind of thing. (I imagine Donna Freitas and Lauren Winner are, too.) Not long ago, a friend of mine who pastors college students at New Life Church in Colorado Springs asked his congregants (about 1000 each Friday night) to share their secrets and woes, privately submitted on index cards. Overwhelmingly, people were struggling with sexual issues. They were aching for spiritual development in their sexuality.
When the Ted Haggard crisis unfolded around us at New Life in 2006, I reflected on this issue a lot. As Alexandra Pelosi’s documentary “Friends of God” made clear, Haggard enjoyed talking and joking about sex in close company (or, in that case, in front of a camera). But the church also addressed sex more seriously in men’s ministry meetings, which were a chance for guys to confess their sins and hear instruction on dealing with sexual temptation. When Haggard was exposed, I realized just how shallow had been our approach to sex. We should have done closer studies of sexuality. We should have modeled transparency. We should have reflected and prayed together, making sexuality a matter of spiritual discernment and discipleship. Our talk of sex was usually framed by discussions of morality and marriage–great places to begin, for sure, but not nearly equal to the complexity of human sexual experience. Kudos to New Life’s college pastor, Aaron Stern, for venturing into this area.
I’ve not read the full report that was released today, but upon first reflection, it strikes me as urgent. Here’s to richer and more honest approaches to sex in religious circles.
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