{"id":5818,"date":"2010-03-05T15:20:33","date_gmt":"2010-03-05T20:20:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/?p=5818"},"modified":"2013-05-10T14:45:29","modified_gmt":"2013-05-10T18:45:29","slug":"march-5-2010-seminaries-and-sex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2010\/03\/05\/march-5-2010-seminaries-and-sex\/5818\/","title":{"rendered":" Seminaries and Sex"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Originally broadcast March 27, 2009<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

KIM LAWTON<\/strong>, anchor: A new report from the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality claims that most clergy in the United States are not adequately dealing with sex and gender issues in their congregations. The group says part of the problem lies with theological seminaries which are often not teaching students what they need to know about human sexuality. Judy Valente has our story.<\/p>\n

Professor LAUREL SCHNEIDER (Chicago Theological Seminary, teaching class): Sex and sexuality is of course a very significant part of our experience. And I put the question up here, \u201cIs sex divine?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

JUDY VALENTE<\/strong>: Professor Laurel Schneider of Chicago Theological Seminary teaches an evening course in systematic theology. Most of the time, it\u2019s hardly sexy stuff. But this evening the topic is sex. This seminary is one of the few where human sexuality, in all its facets, is openly discussed.<\/p>\n

\"\"UNIDENTIFIED TRANGENDERED STUDENT: My oldest son right now won\u2019t even talk to me, won\u2019t have anything to do with me. His comment to me was, \u201cGod created you as a man and God does not make mistakes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

UNIDENTIED FEMALE STUDENT: The male who has become a female, that part of you inside that wants \u2014 that feels female \u2014 that wants to be female, that\u2019s still a part of you. That\u2019s still \u2014 God made that too. <\/em><\/p>\n

VALENTE<\/strong>: Sexual mores have been changing. But how well are seminaries preparing future pastors and rabbis to address these changes? The Religious Institute on Sexual Morality is a nonprofit group that helps promote sexual health in faith communities. The Institute recently studied 36 seminaries across denominational lines. The study found an \u201coverwhelming need\u201d to better educate and prepare future religious leaders in the area of human sexuality.<\/p>\n

Dr. KATE OTT<\/strong> (Associate Director, Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice and Healing): We see these issues every day and the harm that can be done around sexuality issues \u2014 either a kid who\u2019s questioning their orientation, a couple whose marriage is failing. I think when those folks are coming to us in faith communities for real information and for real help, we need to make sure we have the training to be able to address that.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.VALENTE<\/strong>: Many pastors say issues such as teen sexual activity and marital infidelity are among the most common topics about which congregation members seek guidance. Yet few seminaries offer courses in sexuality, and fewer still require these courses.<\/p>\n

Dr. ALICE HUNT<\/strong> (President, Chicago Theological Seminary): It\u2019s a challenge. It\u2019s controversial. It makes people feel uncomfortable. It makes people feel insecure. So it\u2019s just taking time for schools to come on board with addressing these issues.<\/p>\n

Dr. OTT<\/strong>: When seminaries don\u2019t offer the courses, they\u2019re still talking about the issue. They\u2019re just talking about it from silence and from a negative perspective, and seminary students understand that. They hear both messages loud and clear, and we would just prefer that they get a positive, open message rather than a silenced or dismissive message.<\/p>\n

VALENTE<\/strong>: Some clergy have criticized the Religious Institute\u2019s report saying seminaries can\u2019t teach everything, that students aren\u2019t there primarily to obtain \u201chow to\u201d skills, but to study biblical texts, to reflect and pray. Dr. Hunt says it\u2019s a legitimate point.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.Dr. HUNT<\/strong>: You have to, then, change your whole curriculum. If you want to incorporate issues of human sexuality and race and gender, you have to examine everything you\u2019re teaching in your educational context, and that\u2019s a lot of hard work.<\/p>\n

VALENTE<\/strong>: As a result, graduating seminarians are often expected to \u201clearn on the job.\u201d Reverend Lillian Daniel is the senior pastor of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. She recalls one of the few classes at her divinity school where sex was discussed.<\/p>\n

Reverend LILLIAN DANIEL<\/strong> (Senior Pastor, First Congregational United Church of Christ, Glen Ellyn, IL): The teacher goes \u201cNever, ever, ever \u2014 with anyone in your congregation.\u201d We all thought, \u201cDid we miss the verb? What is it? Go skiing? Go dancing?\u201d I mean, he couldn\u2019t even bring himself to say the word, and that was the extent of the conversation.<\/p>\n

VALENTE<\/strong>: And the word would have been?<\/p>\n

Rev. DANIEL<\/strong>: Don\u2019t sleep with.<\/p>\n

\"\"VALENTE<\/strong>: Daniel says seminaries often discuss gender rights, sexual harassment, and how pastors should maintain proper boundaries with their congregation members. But, she says, they rarely train students to deal with the complex, intimate questions congregation members are likely to bring to them.<\/p>\n

JENNY GRESKO (Therapist, Central DuPage Pastoral Counseling Center, speaking to group): \u201cWe don\u2019t have as much sex as he wants and we have more sex than I want and we\u2019ll never fix this.\u201d That\u2019s a very, very common issue between couples.<\/em><\/p>\n

VALENTE<\/strong>: As part of a Sunday afternoon series on sexuality, Daniel\u2019s congregation has been examining a variety of issues connected with marriage.<\/p>\n

JOE FORTUNATO<\/strong> (Congregant): Sexuality isn\u2019t bad. It\u2019s something that\u2019s a good thing. It\u2019s a gift from God, which is the clich\u00e9, but it is a gift from God, and to deal with it honestly and openly is very, very important, I think, to a lot of people here.<\/p>\n

\"Rev.Rev. DANIEL<\/strong>: I\u2019m all in favor referring people on to folks with more expertise if they\u2019ve got sort of issues that are ongoing. But a lot of times people come in to see a pastor because they want to tell something one time. Or they just want a reality check. Or they just want some kind of comfort or someone to listen to them. Sometimes it\u2019s almost in the area of a confession. So in those cases, we may be their only stop.<\/p>\n

VALENTE<\/strong>: Chicago Theological, a United Church of Christ seminary, received a high rating in the Religious Institute study. But even this school doesn\u2019t require students to study human sexuality. It does, however, offer several sexuality courses. Alice Hunt says the seminary wants its graduates to be able to minister to the \u201cwhole person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. HUNT<\/strong>: Understanding what your tradition says about human sexuality, being sexually healthy yourself, understanding what religious texts say, being aware of counseling issues, knowing how human development happens with sexuality, being aware of societal constraints and the fear that people face for not being able to fully express who they are \u2014 all of those are crucial in becoming a mature minister.<\/p>\n

\"MarkRev. DANIEL<\/strong>: The problem is it really falls upon the pastor to seek out that knowledge, and if you were somebody who wanted to shut yourself away from this, you really could, and your church could become a place where none of this is able to be talked about.<\/p>\n

VALENTE<\/strong>: But there does seem to be a shift in generational attitudes. Today\u2019s young seminarians, who grew up in a more sexually liberal culture, seem eager to address these matters openly.
\n
\nMARK WINTERS<\/strong> (Student, Chicago Theological Seminary): I think that, generally speaking, younger folks tend to see, for instance, homosexuality as basically a non-issue, whereas older folks come from a different time and a different place where you weren\u2019t as open about sex and sexuality, and I think I would include heterosexuality in that as well as homosexuality, as you alluded to in the question, in terms of cohabitation for heterosexual couples. I think, generally speaking, we are in a more nonjudgmental time, and I consider that a very good thing.<\/p>\n

VALENTE<\/strong>: Many pastors would disagree. Nonetheless, questions of gay marriage and whether to ordain gay clergy have moved sexuality issues to the forefront in many churches. Alice Hunt says there is a far more fundamental reason for making sex a topic of discussion.<\/p>\n

Dr. HUNT<\/strong>: I hope another imperative is the imperative of God\u2019s love, a kind of radical inclusivity of everything that promotes human flourishing. I hope we\u2019ll take it \u2014 a good look at what we need to do to get to the space where we can fully minister to our congregation.<\/p>\n

Dr. OTT<\/strong>: Our sexuality is part of our spirituality. We\u2019re embodied beings, and most of our faith traditions believe that God gave us the gift of sexuality, so it has deep theological meaning for us. So I don\u2019t think we can say sexuality isn\u2019t a religious issue. It deeply is a religious issue.<\/p>\n

VALENTE<\/strong>: The Religious Institute recently received a grant to help seminaries introduce sexuality courses and provide continuing education classes for those already in ministry. One young seminarian described this as a \u201ccoming out time\u201d for sexuality discussions in faith communities. \u201cIf sex is a common topic in the Bible,\u201d he asked, \u201cthen why shouldn\u2019t it be talked about in churches and seminaries?\u201d<\/p>\n

For RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY<\/strong>, I\u2019m Judy Valente in Chicago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cMost of our faith traditions believe God gave us the gift of sexuality, so it has deep theological meaning for us. I don\u2019t think we can say sexuality isn\u2019t a religious issue. 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