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Interfaith Officiants are trained in world religions and inter-spirituality and can help people in identifying their own spiritual beliefs through a process of spiritual self-discovery. They can also officiate at events such as weddings.
Interfaith Officiants come from many different faith backgrounds and have different philosophies and personal theologies, yet are well-versed in a multitude of religious traditions. They share a commitment to serving individuals, couples and families in a very personal and respectful way, building ceremonies around the wishes, preferences, beliefs and practices of the clients they serve. Like hospital chaplains, Interfaith Officiants generally do not proselytize on behalf of any one faith tradition, but respect and honor them all.
A number of Interfaith Seminaries and religious institutions train Interfaith Officiants, which are also sometimes called Interfaith Ministers or Interfaith Celebrants. Interfaith Officiants differ from Chaplains in that they usually work independently and serve the public at large, as opposed to Chaplains, who are employed by the military, hospitals, or other institutions.
In 2010, the Council of Interfaith Communities of the United States was created. This is an umbrella for interfaith-interspiritual ministers who are going beyond celebrant status to engage and organize their couples in a lifetime community ministry to support interfaith families. [1] The services of the minister include all of the life celebrations found in traditional faith organizations.
The CIC-USA has members from the US and Mexico including The New Seminary (New York), One Spirit Interfaith Seminary (New York), Chaplaincy Institute for Arts and Interfaith Ministry (Berkeley, CA), Chaplaincy Institute of Maine (Maine), the American Institute for Holistic Theology (Alabama), and the Interfaith Academy for Interfaith Studies (Texas and Mexico), and the All-Paths Divinity School (Los Angeles, CA).
A rabbi is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as semikha—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisaic and Talmudic eras, when learned teachers assembled to codify Judaism's written and oral laws. The title "rabbi" was first used in the first century CE. In more recent centuries, the duties of a rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Protestant Christian minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis", and in 19th-century Germany and the United States rabbinic activities including sermons, pastoral counseling, and representing the community to the outside, all increased in importance.
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric, or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution, or a private chapel. The term chaplaincy refers to the chapel, facility or department in which one or more chaplains carry out their role.
Interfaith dialogue, also known as interreligious dialogue, refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels.
The United States Navy Chaplain Corps is the body of military chaplains of the United States Navy who are commissioned naval officers. Their principal purpose is "to promote the spiritual, religious, moral, and personal well-being of the members of the Department of the Navy", which includes the Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Additionally, the Chaplain Corps provides chaplains to the United States Coast Guard.
The Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) is a Christian ecumenical American seminary located in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of several seminaries historically affiliated with the United Church of Christ. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Chicago, originally established in 1855 under the direction of the abolitionist Stephen Peet and the Congregational Church by charter of the Illinois legislature.
A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases, they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations.
Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary (Garrett) is a private seminary and graduate school of theology related to the United Methodist Church and is ecumenical in spirit. It is located in Evanston, Illinois, on the campus of Northwestern University. The seminary offers master's- and doctoral-level degrees, as well as certificate, micro-credentialing, and lifelong learning programs. It has thousands of alumni serving in ministry, education, organizational leadership, and public service throughout the world.
Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is education to teach spiritual care to clergy and others. CPE is the primary method of training hospital and hospice chaplains and spiritual care providers in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. CPE is both a multicultural and interfaith experience that uses real-life ministry encounters of students to improve the care provided by caregivers.
Martin Luther University College, formerly Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada federated with Wilfrid Laurier University, located in Waterloo, Ontario.
The Hartford International University for Religion and Peace is a private theological university in Hartford, Connecticut.
The Royal Canadian Chaplain Service is a personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces that has approximately 264 Regular Force chaplains and 135 Reserve Force chaplains representing the Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths. From 1969 to 2014 it was named the Chaplain Branch. It was renamed on October 16, 2014.
Starr King School for the Ministry is a Unitarian Universalist seminary in Oakland, California. The seminary was formed in 1904 to educate leaders for the growing number of progressive religious communities in the western part of the US. The school emphasizes the practical skills of religious leadership. Today, it educates Unitarian Universalist ministers, religious educators, and spiritual activists, as well as progressive religious leaders from a variety of traditions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, earth-centered traditions, and others.
Pastoral care, or cure of souls, refers to emotional, social and spiritual support. The term is considered inclusive of distinctly religious and non-religious forms of support, including atheist and religious communities. It is also an important form of support found in many spiritual and religious traditions.
A marriage officiant or marriage celebrant is a person who officiates at a wedding ceremony.
In Belgium, organized secularism is the local associations and organizations which provide moral support for naturalist, atheist, agnostic, secular humanist, freethinking, Bright, or irreligious and non-confessional citizens. A person who subscribes to such entities or ideologies, or at least espouses an interest in "free inquiry" apart from religious traditions is described as a "secular" or "free-thinker".
David O'Leary is a priest and educator, appointed as a Canon in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem. He is currently serving as the Pastor at Good Shepherd Parish in Wayland, MA. Previously, Reverend O'Leary was Parochial Vicar at Immaculate Conception Parish in Malden, MA. and was also formerly the University Chaplain for Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. During his time at Tufts University he was also Senior Lecturer in Religion and Medical Ethics and Chair of the Social, Behavioral and Educational Institutional Review Board.
Robert S. Smith was an American Catholic priest, author, and educator. His interests ranged from philosophy and theology to the ethics of medical care to interfaith dialogue. Smith's homilies explored the mystery and challenge of religious faith, the relationship between modern culture and the struggle to pursue Christian life, and the paradoxical, complex nature of the spiritual journey. He founded the Sophia Center, devoted to engendering discourse among diverse scientific, cultural, and religious perspectives. He was the author of In the Image of God.
Granger E Westberg was a Lutheran clergyman and professor best known for his book, Good Grief, and for creating the parish nurse program, now an international movement called faith community nursing. Westberg was a pioneer in exploring and encouraging the interrelationship of religion and medicine and in fostering holistic health care. He held the first joint appointment in medicine and religion at a major university.
An ordination mill is a religious organization or denomination in which membership is obtainable by trivial means and all members are qualified for self-ordination as a minister of religion, bishop, priest or deacon without any prerequisite training, work, experience, seminary study or other qualification. In some cases, ordination may be obtained online or by mail merely by submitting an application and a nominal fee.
Ben Campbell Johnson was an American ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and a professor emeritus of evangelism and spiritual direction at Columbia Theological Seminary. He is known for his work in church renewal movements and on interfaith relations between a variety of faith traditions.