The Protestant Future

For U.S. Protestantism, this decade may well be known as the self-critical '60s.

The boom-minded '50s, with their talk of "a religious revival" and their burgeoning statistics--on church membership, church building and church budgets--seem to be giving way to somber re-evaluations.

Last week readers of the New York Times were treated to another dim view: a survey of U.S. theological schools, which showed a 5.3% drop in Protestant enrollments last year--1,125 fewer students for the ministry than the 1959 total of 20,365. The survey's conclusion: Protestantism is failing to demonstrate its "relevance" in the modern world. Other contributing factors are the lure of higher salaries in industry and science, the increased cost of theological education, the end of the post-Korea flood of students on the G.I. Bill of Rights.

Quality v. Quantity. Three heads of leading seminaries--Dean Listen Pope of Yale Divinity School, President James McCord of Princeton Theological Seminary, and Principal George Johnston of Montreal's United Theological College--recently predicted that by 1975 the Protestant churches of North America will have a shortage of ministers that may run as high as 50,000, even if the percentage of churchgoers to total population fails to rise as sharply as it did in the '50s.

In terms of quality, however, the seminary picture is brighter; there are indications that the young men called to the ministry today are keener of mind and firmer of purpose than their predecessors. Many seminaries are raising their entrance requirements--among them, the Missouri Synod Lutherans' Concordia Theological Seminary in St. Louis, whose dean, the Reverend Leonard C. Wuerffel, feels that the current crop of seminarians are being better trained than they have been in at least 20 years.

A Time to Prune. The Presbyterian San Francisco Theological Seminary has also upped its standards, says Dean of Students Dr. Edward Stein. "We offer a five-to-ten-year debt and no salary to pay it off with when a student is through school, while industry offers a half to a full salary all the way through school. The result is a tougher, more dedicated kind of student. The bulk of today's students will be better ministers. This is the time to prune, not scoop in everything you can get."

Despite a decline of 10%-12% in enrollment from last year, Princeton Theological Seminary is practicing a policy of "deliberate upgrading" in scholastic standards; e.g., Greek will be required for admission next fall. And President McCord notes that "the atmosphere on the campus in the '60s is markedly different than in the '50s. Stronger, more mature men and women are entering the seminary. They don't want the phony, superficial forms of religion popular in the '50s. This generation knows it must live in the world, and it is willing to pay the price to find real answers to hard questions. This is going to produce much stronger leadership for the church."

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