Teaching and Living A Radically Inclusive Gospel
At Pacific School of Religion (PSR), we’re called to stand up. There are churches to reimagine. There are lives to restore. The fight for justice and equality must continue. New demands for climate action must be made. PSR’s legacy was formed in defining moments, and now it’s our generation’s turn. It’s time to reinvent the story of grace and inclusion for a new world, for a new day—Unafraid.
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Karen P. Oliveto
We’re highlighting pioneering women from the PSR community to celebrate Women’s History month.
Click here to learn more about the life and work of Bishop Karen P. Oliveto, the first openly lesbian bishop to be elected in the United Methodist Church (UMC).
As a progressive Christian seminary and graduate school, PSR is firmly committed to serving the church and nonprofit organizations. PSR welcomes students from all denominations and religious backgrounds. We embrace diversity and are committed to racial, gender, sexual orientation, economic, and social justice.
Academics
Pushing the Boundaries of Theological Education
PSR’s innovative curriculum combines theological study with contextual education, cross-cultural immersion, spiritual formation, and professional development.
We offer online and on-campus programs.
An advanced professional degree designed for experienced leaders interested in evolving their practice in progressive social change, LGBTQ+ issues, disciplines of performative practice, congregational leadership and chaplaincy.
PSR’s MDiv focuses on leadership formation, hands-on work experience, and theological study that is aligned with PSR’s radically inclusive Christian values. Concentrations are available in Congregational Ministry and Chaplaincy.
An innovative professional graduate program that fuses leading-edge practices in organizational leadership and design thinking with the spiritual formation PSR has offered for over 150 years.
A rigorous survey of theological studies culminating in a project focused on a student’s primary area of passion, like environmental theology, feminist theology, liberation theology, etc.
A joint MDiv/MA degree in cooperation with the Graduate Theological Union (GTU).
A two-year academic degree offered by the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in cooperation with PSR that offers an opportunity to explore theology and religion in response to the challenges posed by contemporary cultures.
Offers students an opportunity to explore theological studies and vocational goals
A graduate certificate program focusing on leadership skills for ethical decision-making, design thinking or social change, spiritual formation and theological reflection, and community organizing and activism.
A graduate certificate program focusing on the knowledge and skills needed to apply theological, historical, ethical, pastoral, and practical dimensions of sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender identity to their religious vocations.
A graduate-level continuing education program for those seeking advanced research through theology and ministry.
Student Life
Building Community Through God's Presence
At PSR, you’re sure to be with others different from yourself. We welcome students who have diverse theological views and cultural backgrounds.
Upcoming Events
Office of Community Life
Community Chapel – ADVENT – Practicing Hope in a Time of Uncertainty
Academic Office, Admissions / Financial Aid, Office of Community Life
Dean’s Tea: End of Semester Strategies for Reading and Writing
Academic Office, Admissions / Financial Aid, Office of Community Life
Dean’s Tea: Theologies of the Pacific Rim
Badè Museum
Bade Museum Lecture Series: The cult of Astarte within the coastal grottos of Adloun and Kharayeb in southern Lebanon
Latest News
ENROLLMENT
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About Us
Mission and Fast Facts
Pacific School of Religion prepares a diverse cadre of spiritually rooted leaders with the vision, resilience, and skill to create a world where all can thrive.
Grounded in the rigorous study and faithful practice of progressive Christian faith, PSR partners with students of all backgrounds to deepen their spirituality and enhance their capacity to lead in transformative ways. Connected to a broad network of religious, educational, not-for-profit, and private sector organizations—with a particular commitment to the wisdom of historically marginalized communities—PSR offers an education that is marked by innovation, reflection, and excellence.
Pacific School of Religion is a member of the Graduate Theological Union (GTU), an interreligious consortium of seminaries and institutes in the San Francisco Bay Area. PSR is a non-profit founded in 1866 and is located in Berkeley, California.
Our Centers
Pacific School of Religion is home to several centers that provide critical scholarship resources on some of today’s most cutting-edge theological, social, cultural, and ethical issues.
Badè Museum of Biblical Archaeology
Fostering a greater understanding of and appreciation for the ancient biblical world.
Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion
Shaping a new public discourse on religion, gender, and sexuality.
Ignite
Institute
Prepares leaders to transform society through personal, communal, and spiritual work.
Theological Education for Leadership
Special courses and seminars providing progressive, accessible Christian theological education year-round for clergy, laity, and spiritual seekers.
Graduate Theological Union
The most comprehensive center for the graduate study of religion in North America.
Alumnx & Giving
Invest in the future by making a donation through Pacific School of Religion that will impact not only our students, but the lives they touch through ministry, community-building, and social transformation.
Alumnx
Our alumnx are making a real difference in the world!
Ways to Give
Your gift allows students to apply a critical, theological lens to pressing social concerns and impacts the lives they touch through ministry, community building, and social transformation.
A Timeline of PSR’s Legacy
1866 – Enfranchised Chinese Immigrants Ahead of the Exclusion Act
1895 – Enrolled Women During the Heart of Suffrage
1942 – Opposed Japanese Internment During WWII
1950 – Appointed Georgia Harkness, the First Female Full Professor of Theology at a U.S. Protestant Seminary
1959 – Combined Civil Rights Activism and Scholarship
1966 – Marched for Farmworkers’ Rights
1969 – Protested the War in Vietnam
1972 – Alumnx Bill Johnson Becomes the First Openly Gay Man Ordained in a Mainline Denomination (UCC)
1997 – Protested Nuclear Proliferation at the United Nations
2000 – Founded the Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion (CLGS), The First Seminary-Based LGBTQ Center
2001 – Founded the Institute for Leadership Development and Study of Pacific and Asian North American Religion (PANA)
2015 – Protested in Support of Black Lives Matter
2016 – Stood with Standing Rock
2017 – Protested the Militarization of the Police
2020 –Included Anti-Racism and Queer Theory into Every Aspect of our Curriculum
2021 – Renewed our Commitment to an Emerging Generation of Students of Color
Unafraid Since 1866
As we emerge from the pandemic, we’re called to stand up. There are churches to reimagine. There are lives to restore. The fight for justice and equality must continue. New demands for climate action must be made. PSR’s legacy was formed in defining moments, and now it’s our generation’s turn.
It’s time to reinvent the story of grace and inclusion
for a new world, for a new day—Unafraid.