Certificate in
Theology & Peace Studies
EARN A CERTIFICATE WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THEOLOGY AND PEACE STUDIES THAT PROVIDES THE THEOLOGICAL LANGUAGE FOR SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER IN A WORLD OF OPPRESSION AND INJUSTICE.
PROGRAMS / THEOLOGY & PEACE STUDIES
Speaking truth to power through a theological lens.
Peace activist, Daniel Berrigan, once remarked, “If you want to follow Jesus, you had better look good on wood.” The Certificate in Theology & Peace Studies equips students to speak truth to power by meaningfully engaging the truth of the gospel of peace and transmitting it through a life of kenotic co-suffering love in the midst of oppression and injustice.
The program consists of one semester of Theology & Culture (11 c/h) and one semester of the Jim Forest Institute courses (9 c/h) for a total of 20 credit hours. While this configuration allows students to complete the program in eight months, students are given the freedom to take any Theology & Culture courses that add up to at least 11 c/h and any Peace & Justice courses that add up to at least 9 c/h. The program can be completed entirely online, with the option of a short one-week residency at St. Stephen's University.
Course Sequencing
THEOLOGY & CULTURE
The successful completion of the Certificate in Theology & Peace Studies requires a total of 20 credit hours. Students therefore need to complete one of the three Theology & Culture semesters and three Peace & Justice courses to complete their CertTPS.
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Theology & Culture semesters are 11-credit hours and include courses in church history & theology, biblical studies, Christian counselling & spiritual formation, and philosophy & culture. While Certificate students complete only one Theology & Culture semester, the three semesters that we offer rotate between the fall and spring during the academic year, and CertTPS students can choose which one of these three semesters they would like to complete as part of their program. These semesters are offered through a hybrid-distance delivery method, wherein courses run online throughout the semester (Sept. – Dec. and Jan. – Apr.), with a short one-week in-person residency and retreat on-site at SSU to give students the opportunity for face-to-face interactions with their fellow students and professors.
Students may start with any semester and may choose to complete the courses in each semester at a slower pace and in any order. Click on the tabs below to view the available courses in each semester of this program.
CHOOSE ANY ONE OF THE FOLLOWING SEMESTERS AS PART OF YOUR CERTIFICATE PROGRAM:
11 CREDIT HOURS
BIB 5120
CUL 5172
SF 5150
HIST 5141
CUL 5170
Interpretation of Sacred Texts (3 c/h)
DR. BRADLEY JERSAK
Justice for All: Race and Gender Issues Today (2 c/h)
DR. DAVID MOORE & DR. L.A. HENRY
Ignatian Spiritual Formation I (1 c/h)
RACHAEL BARHAM
Ancient Insights for Today I (4 c/h)
DR. PETER FITCH
Beyond Spectrum Ideology and the Culture Wars (1 c/h)
LAURENS VAN ESCH
THE CertTPS AT A GLANCE
DURATION — 8 MONTHS (FULL TIME)
CREDIT HOURS — 20
DELIVERY MODE — ONLINE COURSES, SHORT 7-DAY RESIDENCY (OPTIONAL)
EMPHASES — THEOLOGY & CULTURE, PEACE & JUSTICE, SPIRITUAL FORMATION, COUNSELLING, HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY, MINISTRY PREPARATION
UPCOMING SEMESTER ROTATION
FALL 2023
Semester 1
SPRING 2024
Semester 2
FALL 2024
Semester 3
SPRING 2025
Semester 1
FALL 2025
Semester 2
SPRING 2026
Semester 3
FALL 2026
Semester 1
SPRING 2027
Semester 2
FALL 2027
Semester 3
Course Sequencing
PEACE & JUSTICE
Along with the completion of one of the three Theology & Culture semesters, students need to take three Peace & Justice courses to complete their CertTPS.
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The fall and spring semesters each consist of three online Peace & Justice courses (total: 9 c/h) through the Jim Forest Institute (JFI). Students can take one full JFI semester as part of their Certificate in Theology & Peace Studies if they want to complete the program in eight months, or take any combination of three courses in both semesters to complete the program at a more gradual pace.
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PJST/SF 5482 – THE INNER TRANSFORMATION OF A PEACEMAKER | DR. ANDREW PHILLIP KLAGER)
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PJST/THEO 5380 – THEOLOGY OF PEACE AND JUSTICE | DR. ANDREW PHILLIP KLAGER)
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PJST/BIB 5180 – PEACE AND VIOLENCE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT | DR. BRADLEY JERSAK)
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PJST 5583 – PRACTICAL NONVIOLENCE AND PEACEBUILDING | DR. ANDREW PHILLIP KLAGER)
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PJST/THEO 5882 – RELIGION, PEACE AND CONFLICT | DR. ANDREW PHILLIP KLAGER)
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PJST/BIB 5182 – PEACE AND VIOLENCE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT | DR. BRADLEY JERSAK)
FALL SEMESTER
SPRING SEMESTER
Please click on the tabs in the semesters below for more information and full course descriptions.
FALL SEMESTER (SEPT. – DEC.)
PJST 5482
THE INNER TRANSFORMATION OF A PEACEMAKER
3 cr/hrs
Sept. – Dec.
Graduate or Undergraduate
TUITION:
$1,185 (credit)
$600 (audit)
Professor
Dr. ANDREW PHILLIP KLAGER
Course Description — The inner transformation of a peacemaker gives the interior foundation for being a genuine rather than contrived and inauthentic agent of peace. This course will explore issues of ego, pride, anger, a sense of failure, and other impulses that can be transformed into patience, self-control, compassion, and other virtues—especially humility to overcome 'epistemological hubris'—in circumstances ranging from violent forms of communication to the chaos and trauma of violent conflict. We will therefore explore historical ascetic, spiritual, and contemplative disciplines and exercises that induce our transformation as peacemakers and are directly transferable into real-life situations.
Guest Lecturers – Dr. Betty Pries, Phileena Nikole, Dr. Kim Franklin, Dr. Ron Dart, Dr. Walter Thiessen
Course Questions — What do I do if (or how do I prepare myself for when) someone tries to harm me or people I love? How do I acquire the clarity of mind and inner fortitude to deal justly and peacefully with the Other? Into what do I put my efforts and energy in order to be an effective peacemaker? What spiritual and ascetic resources are available to peacemakers to assist in our transformation? How do I incorporate these spiritual and ascetic disciplines into my life? How do I use these spiritual and ascetic disciplines in real life circumstances?
SPRING SEMESTER (JAN. – APR.)
PJST 5583
PRACTICAL NONVIOLENCE AND PEACEBUILDING
3 cr/hrs
Jan. – Apr.
Graduate or Undergraduate
TUITION:
$1,185 (credit)
$600 (audit)
Professor
Dr. ANDREW PHILLIP KLAGER
Course Description — This course introduces students to the field of peace and conflict studies by exploring the prevention, analysis, and resolution of conflict and the many innovative and creative ways to build peace in fragmented societies. The course focuses on the components, theoretical paradigms, and methods of peacebuilding “from the ground up,” although attention will also be given to official high-level peace processes and negotiations, with an emphasis on how ground-level and high-level activities complement or otherwise impact each other.
Guest Lecturers – Jarrod McKenna, Wendy Kroeker, Lisa Schirch, Imbenzi George, Cherie Enns, Wayne Northey
Course Questions — What effective nonviolent measures can be taken to build peace and transform conflict? How can we “make things right” after experiences of violence and trauma without resorting to retribution, vengeance, or otherwise more violence? What are the processes, initiatives, strategies, and actions for building peace at a grassroots level? How can we get involved in these processes and organize effective nonviolent initiatives?
Multifaith Chaplaincy & Spiritual Care
St. Stephen's University offers a course that prepares students for multi-faith pastoral and spiritual care in a variety of chaplaincy settings. This course can be completed as an add-on to a master's degree at SSU (i.e., not included in the total credit hours of a student's degree program) or as a stand-alone credential without a program. We offer a certificate of completion for the course that can be applied to a student's resume as an academic credential for ministry rather than a CPE/CPU clinical credential.