Seminary

A seminary is a specialised university -like institution forthe purpose of training candidates for positions within a religious context. This usually, though not always, applies to Christian education. RomanCatholic seminarys usually have their degrees conferred by a Pontifical University .

Although the primary purpose of a seminary is to prepare and equip candidates for religious service in the church, nowadaysmany people not intending to become involved in church leadership may study in seminaries. Qualifications may be obtainedmajoring in pastoral work and similar fields, as well as in the more academic disciplines. Many monks, nuns and church workersattend a seminary to enhance their qualifications. It is also quite common for lay people to study in a seminary to enhance theirspiritual life, or purely to pursue an interest.

Some seminaries include:

• Gordon-Conwell TheologicalSeminary
• Greensville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
• Fuller Theological Seminary

Youth seminaries

The word seminary also applies to a school of religious education for children that accompanies normal seculareducation. A prominent example of this is the seminary education system of the Church of Jesus Christ ofLatter-day Saints , which provides extended study of theology and religious text throughout the school week, in addition tonormal Sunday classes. These types of seminaries schedule classes before or after regular school time, or negotiate agreed"release time" permits with the nearest public school districts toallow students to voluntarily leave school grounds for an allotted amount of time (usually one class period) to receive seminaryeducation. In predominantly LDS communities, LDS seminary facilities are commonly built on Church-owned properties thatimmediately neighbor the grounds of state-owned public schools, allowing individual students to simply walk between school andseminary during their scheduled release time. These arrangements work to ease the integration of secular and religious study intoa child's school day without inappropriately (or illegally) violating the separation of church and state in secular society.