| | Southwestern Baptist Seminary's Homemaking Program"The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary offers coursework in Greek and Hebrew, in archaeology, in the philosophy of religion and - starting this fall - in how to cook and sew," writes Rose French in an Associated Press article. The seminary is associated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The curricula is 23 units which include classes on general homemaking, the biblical model of family, clothing design and construction, and nutrition and food preparation. Terri Stowall, the dean of women's programs, says, "Whether a woman works outside or strictly in the home, her first
priority is her family and home," she said. "We just really want to
step up and provide some of these skills." The program has received much criticism. Pastor Benjamin Cole of Parkview Baptist Church in Arlington, TX, who says, "It's quite superfluous to the mission of theological education in Southern Baptist life. It's insulting I would say to many young women training in vital ministry role. It's yet another example of the ridiculous and silly degree to which
some Southern Baptists, Southwestern in particular, are trying to
return to what they perceive to be biblical gender roles." David Key of Emory University says, "Women continue to make more inroads into traditional male bastions,
which could be provoking [Seminary President Paige] Patterson to do this. [Patterson is] trying to draw the line in the sand of where women need to be." He compares Southwestern Seminary to Southern Seminary, and says, "Southern at least appears to realize the realities of modern day life —
that often times husbands and wives must both work outside the home to
support the family."There are a number of criticisms against this program that are simply based on false assumptions. The first is that homemaking is being imposed on women. But this is not the case. Dean Stovall says that the program is one of ten women's programs and "only targeted to women whose heart and calling is the home." This is not every woman, but those who desire it. President Patterson relates that seminary wives were the ones who asked for these classes. Rather than being imposed on women, it is the women who want to take these classes. The existence of such a program does not mean that Southwestern believes married women are not to work, as Key implies. If women desire to follow a track that is geared toward not working outside the home, shouldn't they have that freedom? It is not as if Southwestern Seminary restricts women from pursuing occupational fields. There are seminaries that will not grant a Masters of Divinity to a woman, but Southwestern is not one of them. A woman can get a Ph.D. in Theology at Southwestern. The second assumption is that the program is a non-rigorous seminary major. Again, this is false. First of all, it's not a seminary major per se; it's an undergraduate program. There are many other undergraduate colleges that offer home economics-type of classes. The program is is just one concentration of the undergraduate Bachelor of Humanities degree offered at the College at Southwestern. The homemaking classes make up only 23 units of the ~130 units required for the major. Is this a non-rigorous major? Let's just say it requires twenty classes in history and thought, four classes in Greek or Latin, four classes in Old and New Testament, and four classes in theology. It would be solid academic preparation for a seminary degree anywhere.Now, I'm not saying I would recommend the program. What I am saying is that we ought not dismiss these women who are called more specifically to ministry within the home, and who see training in homemaking, as well as theological training, as beneficial to their Christian lives. |
