About The Program

Our Mission

The Tom Porter Religion and Conflict Transformation Program prepares graduates to engage communities in transforming conflicts toward justice and peace.

Learning Outcomes:

Students who complete the RCT Certificate will be able to

  • Articulate a definition of conflict transformation.
  • Describe theological or theoretical foundations for the work of conflict transformation from within their own religious or ethical tradition.
  • Lead or practice at least one embodied conflict transformation practice in communities of which they are a part.
  • Reflect critically on their own experience and social contexts in light of conflict transformation theories, theologies, ethics, and/or practices.

 

International students Oscar, Lian, Yewon, and Roger shared their experiences and perspectives with conflict transformation.

Who We Are

The Religion and Conflict Transformation (RCT) program is a seminary-based program in theologically-informed conflict transformation. It trains religious leaders in the theologies, theories, and practices of conflict transformation.

The program is offered to students enrolled in degree programs, as well as to non-degree students, such as ministers and other professionals in the field seeking to advance their education and receive training and certification in the area of religion and conflict transformation.

Distinctive Elements

Focus on multicultural and interfaith contexts: In all its programs, the RCT Program attempts to embody in its practice the possibility of a pluralistic peace via practices of learning, ritual, and community. All core courses include multicultural representation and content from diverse faith communities. Rooted in Protestant Christian traditions, the Program has graduated practitioners of Catholiism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Unitarian Universalis, African Traditional Religions, and Buddhism, as well as those who do not practice a religious tradition. There are few programs in the world with the combination of racial, national, and religious diversity that exists here.

Emphasis on spiritual practices: The RCT Program is a practical one and works from the assumption that effective peacebuilding, especially in multicultural and interreligious contexts, requires attention to spiritual practices, rituals, and community formation. Other programs emphasize theological reflection and minimize training in practical application. The RCT Program holds critical theological reflection in balance with practical learning and practice to graduate both reflective and effective practitioners of conflict transformation.

Emphasis on Restorative Justice and Community Organizing: The RCT Program at BU has particular strengths in restorative justice and in community organizing. Thus, in addition to the core required course “The Spirit and Art of Conflict Transformation” students are required to take either “The Principles and Practices of Restorative Justice” or “Faith-Based Community Organizing for Justice and Peace” or an equivalent at their home institution. In addition, there are multiple practical and internship opportunities in these areas at BU and in the greater Boston area. There are places with emphases in either restorative justice or community organizing but there is no other place that weaves them together in the ways they are in the RCT Program.

Partnership with Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium (BTI): The RCT Certificate is earned through the BTI. This partnership enables students to enroll in elective courses at any of the BTI schools including Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, Harvard Divinity School, Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, and more!

    Who May Participate

    There are several ways you can participate in the Religion and Conflict Transformation Program:

    1. Supplement your existing program (for all degree candidates in the BTI schools).
    2. Register for continuing education programs in the BTI schools. Registrants may be, for example, social workers and lawyers, teachers and missionaries, pastors or priests, military and prison chaplains, or others.
    3. Students enrolled in the Boston University School of Theology’s Master of Theological Studies (MTS) program may pursue a specialization in Religion and Conflict Transformation. Prospective students will first apply through the BU STH Admissions office and indicate in the application an interest in religion and conflict transformation. Those pursuing the MTS degree can receive a specialization in Religion and Conflict Transformation by taking the core course, Spirit and Art of Conflict Transformation, and three other courses in the field of religion and conflict transformation.  This specialization will be noted on your transcript. Read more about how this works by clicking here. 

    How To Participate

    1. To learn about upcoming programs and opportunities in the RCT Program, please complete this RCT Newsletter Registration Form. When you register for the program, you will be placed on our email list and invited to programming and events. The registration form also provides you with an opportunity to indicate your interest in the BTI/RCT Certificate.
    2. Seek the BTI Certificate in Religion and Conflict Transformation.

    RCT Certificate Requirements:

    1. Four (4) courses minimum (or their equivalent, 12 BU Credits):
      • The Religion and Conflict Transformation Core Course (3 credits)
      • Either “The Principles and Practices of Restorative Justice” OR “Faith-Based Community Organizing for Justice and Peace” or an equivalent course at your home school (3 credits)
      •  Two additional course electives (6 credits), which may be participation in an contextual education placement or participation in a travel seminar.
    2. Capstone presentation at the annual Spring Capstone Colloquium during your final year of study.

    For more information and a description of the requirements for the BTI Certificate, click here.

    Potential “Concentrations”

    Though the RCT Certificate does not have concentrations with it, students who wish to focus in a specific area may pursue courses of study informed in these general areas:

    • Congregational Ministry and Conflict Transformation
      • Ministry in a Diverse Church (Hoffman Ospino, BC)
      • The Church and Interreligious Dialogue (Cornille, BC)
      • Educating for Justice and Peace (O’Keefe, BC)
      • Socio-Spiritual Care (DuBois, BC)
      • Paradigms of Racism, the Ignorance They Hide, and the Harm They Sustain (Goto and Schlauch, BU)
    • Trauma-informed Conflict Transformation
      • Recommended: Principles and Practices of Restorative Justice (McCarty, BU)
      • Trauma Healing and Prevention (DuBois, BC)
      • Trauma and Theology (Rambo, BU)
      • Socio-Spiritual Care (DuBois, BC)
      • Healing Trauma from the Inside Out (Hartford)
      • Trauma-Informed Bystander Intervention (One-credit) (Edwards, BTI)
    • Restorative Justice and Conflict Transformation
      • Strongly Recommended: Principles and Practices of Restorative Justice (McCarty, BU)
      • Peacemaking Circles (McCarty, BU)
      • Transitional Justice and Reconciliation (Rotating, BU)
      • Recommended: Peacemaking Circle Keeper Internship (McCarty, BU)
      • Mediation (One-credit) (Rotating, BU)
    • International Conflict Transformation
      • Liberation Theology (Maia, BU)
      • Ethics of Global Development (McRorie, BC)
      • Religion and the Governance of Global Issues (Cesari, HDS)
      • Religion, Conflict, and Peace in Israel/Palestine (Moore, HDS)
      • Transitional Justice and Reconciliation (Rotating, BU)
    • Activism and Social Change
      • Strongly Recommended: Faith-Based Community Organizing for Justice and Peace (McCarty, BU)
      • Liberation Theology (Maia, BU)
      • Peacemaking Circles (McCarty, BU)
      • Faith and Justice: Liberation Theologies in the US (Valentin, BC)
      • Nonviolence in Faith-Based Social Movements (Hartford)
      • Nonviolent Social Change (One-credit) (Rotating, BU)
      • Faith and Ecological Justice Certificate Series (BU students only)
    • Interfaith Conflict Leadership
      • World Religions in Boston (Shenton, BU)
      • Ministry and Leadership in Interfaith Contexts (Von Courter, BU)
      • The Church and Interreligious Dialogue (Cornille,BC)
      • Antisemitism, Racism, and Christian Nationalism (Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, BC)
      • Undoing Anti-Judaism in the Church (Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, BC)
      • Interreligious Dialogue: Theory and Practice (Hartford)
      • Negotiating Across Worldviews (Seul, HDS)
      • Religion and the Problem of Tolerance (Seligman, BU)
      • Muslim-Christian Conflict or Cooperation: The Politics of Interpreting Our Shared Past (Hartford)
      • Faith in the Neighborhood: Understanding and Engaging the World’s Religions in America (Hartford)
    • Racial Justice and Conflict Transformation.
      • Faith and Justice: Liberation Theologies in the US (Valentin, BC)
      • Theology, Race, and Critical Race Theory (Valentin, BC)
      • Antisemitism, Racism, and Christian Nationalism (Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, BC)
      • Christianity and the Problem of Racism (Hammond and Watkins, GCTS)
      • Socio-Spiritual Care (DuBois, BC)
      • Paradigms of Racism, the Ignorance They Hide, and the Harm They Sustain (Goto and Schlauch, BU)

    Program History

    To read more about this program’s history, click here.