Absolutely not.
This article by Christopher Marquis, Professor at the University of Cambridge Business School inferentially explains why we need divinity schools and seminaries (by explaining why MBA programs are ruining our culture) and it also speaks to our overall broken system.
Please read the article, especially if you are affiliated with a seminary or divinity school and/or you care about the future of professional ministry, the Church, and the direction of our world.
The first divinity schools were established to prepare future preachers by training them in a liberal arts curriculum including history, ancient languages, scriptural interpretation, pastoral care, and systematic theology while also participating in some form of field education. Previously, a young man (and they were always men) might finish his formal education (possibly just grammar school) and then apprentice alongside an established clergyman without specific teaching in Greek and Hebrew, history, etc. Wealthier men would attend college, study the classics and then apprentice with a seasoned pastor.
People ostensibly wanted to become pastors so that they could lead in the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind, bolster the shelter, nurture and spiritual fellowship of the children of God, lead in the maintenance of divine worship, work towards the preservation of the Truth, and shepherd the promotion of social righteousness and the exhibition of the Reign of Heaven to the world. (My PCUSA siblings will recognize that wording.) Nobody was in it for the money.
[Note: Some denominations – or non-denominations – do not require formal education for their clergy today, and it shows. Going out on a limb here but I believe that most theological abuses are a result of uneducated but charismatic clergy who preach according to a naive or false understanding of Holy Scripture. 2 Chronicles 7:14 – which is a favorite verse among Christian Nationalists – is not about the United States as The New Israel, for example.]
Professor Marquis notes that we have medical schools to prepare people who wish to improve the physical and mental health of human beings. We have law schools to prepare people who wish to serve justice. Along the same lines, we have divinity schools and seminaries to prepare people to serve the spiritual needs of all people.
But business schools – perhaps first created to prepare people who hope to manage people for the benefit of a healthy and prosperous economy – now serve to promote themselves and make the most money possible for those at the top of the ladder. (ouch)
“The modern business school is designed to promote dealmaking, simplification and optimization. Business-educated elites increasingly populate political leadership, brining with them a transactional view of public life. One investigation found that of 45 current heads of state who had studied in the United States, 10 were business majors, and six of those also earned M.B.A.s President Trump, a Wharton graduate, has created foreign policy and government itself as extensions of dealmaking and personal gain.”
Our system is broken.
Instead of learning for the sake of learning, we now grade college degrees based on how much money the degree holder will make four years after graduation. Congratulations to Duke math majors.
This is not to say that all students headed to business schools are greedy, self-promoting Scrooges. But Professor Marquis writes: “Again and again, I have watched students abandon their altruistic intentions, instead becoming consumed by whether to choose careers in consulting or finance and who will land a summer internship at McKinsey or Goldman Sachs.” (Note to my friends who are McKinsey or Goldman alums: I still love you even though you have at least two homes.)
So . . . back to why we absolutely need divinity schools and seminaries: While it’s clearly counter cultural to want to create authentic community by sharing the message of God’s generous and loving will for the universe without much regard for personal power-building, that goal is more necessary than ever. Each of the complex problems of the world are a result of our focus on personal gain (what can I get out of this?) rather than concern for our neighbors.
Seriously, can you name a single global issue that is not connected ultimately to human selfishness? Homelessness, famine, war, professional misconduct, hunger, climate change, false imprisonment, the humongous divide between the haves and have nots?
And it could get worse before it gets better. Liberal Arts Majors will be ineligible for federal student loans if their universities cannot show that those studying music, English, sociology, etc. can earn more than mere high school graduates. This is unbelievably short-sighted. Carly Fiorina (medieval history and philosophy major) became the CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Jack Ma (English major) is the co-founder of Alibaba. Howard Schultz (communications major) was the CEO of Starbucks. Arundhati Bhattacharya (English literature major) became chair of the First Bank of India.
And most of us know that seminary/div school graduates are among the lowest paid workers with graduate degrees. According to salary.com:
- Entry-Level (1–3 years, youth ministers, associate roles, or starting chaplains): $35,000 to $47,000 per year.
- Middle Half (Median range across all experience levels): $48,260 to $76,640 per year.
- Senior-Level / Experienced Pastors & Specialized Roles (8+ years, senior pastors, or specific master’s concentrations like missions or counseling): $70,000 to $117,000+ per year.
- Top 10% Earners: $98,890 to $135,000+ per year
Yes, we love the LORD but we also have bills to pay – including graduate school loan repayments.
Nevertheless – nevertheless – we need more people equipped to share the deep meaning of holy scriptures, to know how to sit with people in grief and personal crisis, to grapple with the meaning of life in community, to serve the vulnerable because of cosmic mandates (not just to feel good). We need spiritual leaders who do not cause harm because they know that – actually – the Bible does not condemn LGBTQA people or refer to modern-day abortion or teach that women are to be controlled by men. They’ve read the Bible in ancient languages in light of context and history. They’ve had boundary training (no, you can’t use the church credit card for your own groceries or sleep with the choir director.) They’ve had training to address everyday racism. They’ve had additional training in non-profit management or transitional ministry or public speaking.
God’s people deserve leaders who are well-trained and theologically focused for the sake of God and the world, rather than the sake of personal ladder-climbing. Also, the institutional Church is changing and it’s energizing, rather than exhausting to consider making the necessary culture shifts.
A final word from Professor Marquis: “abolishing business schools cannot mean abandoning the people in them. The goal is not to write off the students as aspiring selfish capitalists; it is to stop funneling them through a machine that narrows their sense of possibility.” It’s about the people. How can we best serve the people?
