Resource Hub
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Research on Human Formation Published as Part of Organizational and Educational Models Initiative
Stephen R. Graham, ATS Strategic Director of Context and Continuity and Director of Accreditation, announces a new digital resource on human formation.
KEYWORDS: open access / free access; academic rigor; ATS member schools; ATS Standards of Accreditation (2020); ATS Student Data and Resources Consultation (2025); Colloquy article; curricular and co-curricular formation; definitions of formation; dimensions of formation; faculty and staff development; global awareness and engagement; human formation / well-being / wholeness; intercultural competency; lifelong learning; Organizational and Educational Models initiative; pedagogical and institutional practices; Protestant schools; psychological assessment; slide deck; student learning and formation; study report; theological education
Student Learning and Formation: Reviewing Standard 3
Stephen R. Graham, ATS Strategic Director of Context and Continuity and Director of Accreditation, examines ATS Standard 3—Student Learning and Formation.
KEYWORDS: open access / free access; ATS Standards of Accreditation (2020); Colloquy article; dimensions of formation; student learning and formation; theological education
Longitudinal Processes among Humility, Social Justice Activism, Transcendence, and Well-Being
Six-wave longitudinal study of 574 seminary students explores reciprocal links among humility, life purpose, horizontal transcendence, and social justice activism using cross-lagged panel modeling.
KEYWORDS: open access / free access; activism; humility; longitudinal; transcendence; well-being
The Spirituality of Deconstruction in United States Theological Schools
Qualitative study of 30 theological students examines "deconstruction" as a shift in spiritual practice, finding patterns of embodiment, syncretism, and ambivalent institutional response.
KEYWORDS: open access / free access; American religion; qualitative research; spirituality
New Study Explores Diversity, Justice among Seminary Faculty and Students from Spiritual Formation View
This research spotlight links humility and compassion with commitments to diversity, social justice, and intercultural competence among seminary faculty and students.
KEYWORDS:Colloquy article; intercultural competence; seminary faculty; seminary students; social justice; spiritual formation; compassion; humility; theological education
Crafted 4 Care: Practicing Virtues for Christian Formation, Group Participant Workbook
Workbook guiding Christian small groups through structured virtue practices—gratitude, empathy, compassion, trust, mindfulness, forgiveness—to cultivate biblical love via weekly exercises, biblical reflections, and group dialogue.
KEYWORDS: open access / free access; ATS Student Data and Resources Consultation (2025); Christian formation; compassion training; emotional intelligence; empathy exercises; gratitude practice; slide deck; small group curriculum; spiritual disciplines; virtue ethics; workbook resource
Experiential Avoidance Mediates the Relationship between Prayer Type and Mental Health before and through the COVID-19 Pandemic
DESCRIPTION: This longitudinal study examines how different types of prayer relate to anxiety, depression, and burnout among 564 seminary students from 17 theological schools. Colloquial, liturgical, and meditative prayer predicted lower experiential avoidance, which in turn was associated with fewer mental health symptoms; petitionary prayer showed no significant direct or indirect effects. The findings suggest that prayer practices may contribute to spiritual and character formation partly by helping seminarians remain engaged with difficult thoughts and emotions rather than avoiding them, with implications for student formation, mentorship, and well-being.
KEYWORDS: anxiety; burnout; character formation; COVID-19; depression; experiential avoidance; mental health; prayer; psychological flexibility; seminarians; spiritual formation; spiritual practices; student well-being
A Mixed-Method Intervention Study on Relational Spirituality and Humility among Religious Leaders
Mixed-method intervention study of 136 emerging religious leaders tests whether change in humility corresponds to change in differentiation and God attachment during a humility cultivation intervention.
KEYWORDS: attachment behavior; God concepts; humility; intention; intervention; leadership; spirituality
Virtues as Mediators of the Associations between Religious/Spiritual Commitment and Well-Being
Longitudinal study of 580 seminarians tests whether virtues mediate the religious/spiritual commitment–well-being link, finding cross-sectional but not longitudinal mediation through blessedness and forgiveness.
KEYWORDS: construct validity; factor analysis; religiousness; virtues; well-being