Duke Divinity School
Encyclopedia
The Divinity School at Duke University
in Durham, North Carolina
is one of thirteen seminaries founded and supported by the United Methodist Church
. It has 39 full time and 18 part time faculty and over 500 full time students. The current dean of The Divinity School is Richard B. Hays, who replaced the former dean and now, senior advisor for international strategy, L. Gregory Jones.
The Divinity School was founded in 1926 as the first graduate school at Duke, following a large endowment by James B. Duke, a tobacco
magnate, in 1924. The Divinity School carries on from the original founding of Trinity College at the site in 1859, which provided free training for Methodist preachers in exchange for support from the church. Though the school is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, it is also ecumenical in outlook and has both faculty and students from a variety of denominations.
The Divinity School building was recently renovated and also expanded. The Hugh A. Westbrook Building, which opened in 2005, is 53000 square feet (4,923.9 m²). It also contains the 315-seat Bishop W. Kenneth Goodson Chapel with 55 feet (16.8 m)-high ceilings, office space, a bookstore, cafe, outdoor patio, and a 177-seat lecture hall.
, Master of Theological Studies
, and Master of Theology
degrees.
A Ph.D.
as well as an M.A.
in religion
is available through the Graduate School
, drawing upon the resources of faculties of the Divinity School and the Department of Religion. A Doctor of Theology, or Th.D, program began in the fall of 2006. It focuses on areas of study such as worship
, evangelism
, preaching, and the arts
which are neglected by the Ph.D. program.
The programs run through the school include the following.
The Divinity School is perhaps most noted in American theological circles for serving as a fountainhead of postliberalism, or narrative theology
, a movement originating in the 1960s and 1970s at Yale Divinity School
.
Duke Divinity also benefits from the resources of the Duke Endowment, providing an outlet for this fund's support of higher education and the rural church in North Carolina. Resources from this endowment go towards student internships in rural North Carolina Methodist churches, further clergy development, and other programs. The Divinity School is home to Stanley Hauerwas
, whom Time
named "America's Best Theologian" in 2001.
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
in Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
is one of thirteen seminaries founded and supported by the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
. It has 39 full time and 18 part time faculty and over 500 full time students. The current dean of The Divinity School is Richard B. Hays, who replaced the former dean and now, senior advisor for international strategy, L. Gregory Jones.
The Divinity School was founded in 1926 as the first graduate school at Duke, following a large endowment by James B. Duke, a tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
magnate, in 1924. The Divinity School carries on from the original founding of Trinity College at the site in 1859, which provided free training for Methodist preachers in exchange for support from the church. Though the school is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, it is also ecumenical in outlook and has both faculty and students from a variety of denominations.
The Divinity School building was recently renovated and also expanded. The Hugh A. Westbrook Building, which opened in 2005, is 53000 square feet (4,923.9 m²). It also contains the 315-seat Bishop W. Kenneth Goodson Chapel with 55 feet (16.8 m)-high ceilings, office space, a bookstore, cafe, outdoor patio, and a 177-seat lecture hall.
Academics and Programs
The Divinity School offers a Master of DivinityMaster of Divinity
In the academic study of theology, the Master of Divinity is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America...
, Master of Theological Studies
Master of Theological Studies
A Master of Theological Studies is a general academic degree that gives students an introduction to advanced theological studies. The M.T.S usually requires two years of program study to complete. The Latin equivalent for M.T.S...
, and Master of Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
degrees.
A Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
as well as an M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
is available through the Graduate School
Graduate School of Duke University
The Graduate School of Duke University is currently one of ten graduate and professional schools that make up the university. Established in 1926, the Graduate School offers the degrees of Master of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Public Policy, and the Doctor of...
, drawing upon the resources of faculties of the Divinity School and the Department of Religion. A Doctor of Theology, or Th.D, program began in the fall of 2006. It focuses on areas of study such as worship
Worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
, evangelism
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
, preaching, and the arts
The arts
The arts are a vast subdivision of culture, composed of many creative endeavors and disciplines. It is a broader term than "art", which as a description of a field usually means only the visual arts. The arts encompass visual arts, literary arts and the performing arts – music, theatre, dance and...
which are neglected by the Ph.D. program.
The programs run through the school include the following.
- Theology and the Arts
- Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition
- Anglican Episcopal House of Studies
- Baptist House of Studies
- Black Church Studies
- Center for Reconciliation
- Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life
- Duke Youth Academy for Christian Formation
- Ormond Center
- Pulpit and Pew
- Sustaining Pastoral Excellence
- Health Initiatives Program
- Thriving Rural Communities
- Leadership Education at Duke Divinity
The Divinity School is perhaps most noted in American theological circles for serving as a fountainhead of postliberalism, or narrative theology
Narrative theology
Postliberal theology began as a late 20th-century development in Christian Theology. It proposes that the Church's use of the Bible should focus on a narrative presentation of the faith as regulative for the development of a coherent systematic theology...
, a movement originating in the 1960s and 1970s at Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School is a professional school at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. preparing students for ordained or lay ministry, or for the academy...
.
Duke Divinity also benefits from the resources of the Duke Endowment, providing an outlet for this fund's support of higher education and the rural church in North Carolina. Resources from this endowment go towards student internships in rural North Carolina Methodist churches, further clergy development, and other programs. The Divinity School is home to Stanley Hauerwas
Stanley Hauerwas
Stanley Hauerwas is a Christian theologian and ethicist. He has taught at the University of Notre Dame and is currently the Gilbert T...
, whom Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
named "America's Best Theologian" in 2001.
Notable faculty
- Jeremy BegbieJeremy BegbieJeremy Begbie, BA, BD, Ph.D., LRAM, ARCM, FRSCM, is Thomas A. Langford Research Professor at Duke Divinity School, Duke University. He was previously the Associate Principal of Ridley Hall, Cambridge, as well as an Affiliated Lecturer in the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge...
, Thomas Langford Research Professor of Theology and Director of the Duke Initiative in Theology and the Arts - Stanley HauerwasStanley HauerwasStanley Hauerwas is a Christian theologian and ethicist. He has taught at the University of Notre Dame and is currently the Gilbert T...
, Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics (1984- ) - Richard B. HaysRichard B. HaysRichard B. Hays is Dean and George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina. His service as dean is for an intentional interim period while a national search is conducted. Hays received his B.A in English literature from Yale College and Master...
, Dean and George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament - Reinhard Hütter, Associate Professor of Theology
- L. Gregory JonesL. Gregory JonesL. Gregory Jones is vice president and vice provost for global strategy and programs at Duke University, where he is also professor of theology in the Divinity School. In addition, he serves as senior strategist for Leadership Education at Duke Divinity. From 1997-2010 he was Dean of Duke Divinity...
- Timothy Tyson, Visiting Professor of American Christianity and Southern Culture
- Geoffrey WainwrightGeoffrey WainwrightGeoffrey Wainwright is a British Methodist theologian.Born in Monk Bretton, Barnsley, Yorkshire, England, in 1939, Geoffrey Wainwright is an ordained minister of the British Methodist Church. He received his university education in Cambridge, Geneva and Rome. He holds the Dr. Théol. degree from...
, Robert Earl Cushman Professor of Christian Theology
Notable alumni
- Edwin Charles BoultonEdwin Charles BoultonEdwin Charles Boulton was an American Bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 1980.-Birth and Family:...
(M.Div. 1953) - a BishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the United Methodist ChurchUnited Methodist ChurchThe United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley... - Ernest A. FitzgeraldErnest A. FitzgeraldErnest A. Fitzgerald was a retired American Bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 1984.-Birth and family:...
(B.D. degree, 1951) - retired Bishop of the United Methodist Church - Vergel L. LattimoreVergel L. LattimoreVergel L. Lattimore is a retired Brigadier General in the Air National Guard.-Biography:An ordained Methodist Episcopal minister, Lattimore is a professor at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio. He has attended Livingstone College, Duke Divinity School, Northwestern University and Hartford...
(M.Div. 1977) - Air National GuardAir National GuardThe Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
Brigadier General - Gregory V. PalmerGregory V. PalmerGregory Vaughn Palmer is an American Bishop of The United Methodist Church, elected in 2000. He was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, Herbert Palmer, is also a United Methodist pastor.-Education:...
(M.Div. 1979) - current president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops. - Andrew PurvesAndrew PurvesAndrew Purves is a Christian theologian in the Reformed tradition through the Church of Scotland . He holds the Chair in Reformed Theology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary....
(Th. M. degree) - holds the Hugh Thomson Kerr Chair in Pastoral Theology at Pittsburgh Theological SeminaryPittsburgh Theological SeminaryPittsburgh Theological Seminary, founded in 1794, is a graduate theological institution associated with the Presbyterian Church USA. It is located in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA and houses one of the largest theological libraries in the nation... - Mack B. StokesMack B. StokesMarion “Mack” B. Stokes is a retired American Bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 1972. He is a graduate of Asbury College , Duke Divinity School , and Boston University . He was a professor of systematic theology and Christian Doctrine at Candler School of Theology at Emory...
(B.D. degree, 1935) - retired Bishop of the United Methodist Church - Randall WallaceRandall WallaceRandall Wallace is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and songwriter who came to prominence by writing the screenplay for the 1995 film Braveheart. His work on the film earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay and a Writers Guild of America award for Best...
(Did not graduate, but did attend) - Hollywood Screenwriter, producer and director, involved with Braveheart, The Man in the Iron Mask, Pearl Harbor, and We Were Soldiers - Roy Kinneer Patteson, Jr.Roy Kinneer Patteson, Jr.Dr. Roy Kinneer Patteson, Jr. is an American ancient language scholar. He is a noted authority on the origin of the alphabet, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Masada scripts and the Apocrypha, a correctional translator of the Wisdom of Ben Sira, and former college president at Southern Seminary Junior...
, Th.M, 1964; Ph.D Graduate Studies in Religion 1967. Noted ancient language scholar, authority on the origin of the alphabet and former president of Southern Virginia UniversitySouthern Virginia UniversitySouthern Virginia University is a liberal arts college located in Buena Vista, Virginia that promotes standards and values of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while not being owned nor operated by the Church...
and King CollegeKing CollegeKing College is a private, comprehensive college located in Bristol, Tennessee. Founded in 1867, King is independently governed with covenant affiliations to the Presbyterian Church and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church ....