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About the Grant

The Climate Science in Theological Education grant initiative builds upon the success of DoSER’s project, Science for Seminaries: Integrating Science into Core Theological Education, which encouraged interest within seminaries and surrounding communities about the relevance of science to theological education and produced a growing number of pastors equipped to help their congregants find answers to science-related questions.

Ambrose Seminary’s Earth Day event

Building upon this foundational work, the Climate Science in Theological Education project provides grants to theological education institutions from to specifically engage the important issue of climate change in the context of theological education, leadership, and ministry. These Climate Science grants can provide the opportunity for schools to build capacity at their institution to start having conversations at the intersection of climate science and theological education. They may also provide the space to start or expand what is already being done in the area of climate science and course engagement in the school’s curriculum. Additionally, these grants fund leadership and ministry-focused activities aimed to engage current and future faith leaders in a variety of ways to prepare them for incorporating climate science engagement into their leadership and ministry contexts.

Our goal is to to create an atmosphere in places of worship in which climate science is relevant, complementary, and important to faith/religious worldviews and ultimately promote faithful and meaningful action on climate change in broader society.

The Climate Science in Theological Education project began as a pilot in 2019 with generous a contribution from longtime AAAS member, Leslie Sternlieb. Her foundational support provided grants to six selected seminary schools to incorporate climate science into at least one core course and to host at least one public event that showcases the validity of human-caused climate change and its effect on the environment.

Building on the extraordinary success of this pilot, the current initiative has so far provided climate science grants to 24 more theological education institutions in the first two cohorts, with a third forthcoming. A grant from the David and Carol Myers Foundation, as well as continued funding from Ms. Sternlieb, has been essential to this program and we are deeply grateful for their ongoing vision and support.

For more information about the Climate Science in Theological Education pilot schools and previous Science for Seminaries cohorts, please visit the ScienceForSeminaries.org website.