Liberty Outranks in Military Chaplain Enrollment
Posted by: Sarah
on Jan 18, 2011
With an emphasis on patriotism, Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary has outranked other seminaries in training new military chaplains according to an article in The Christian Century. According to the article, "One out of every five Air Force chaplain candidates studying at an evangelical seminary is enrolled at Liberty."
Accredited through SACS, Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary provides a 72 credit hour program based upon the minimum requirements given by the military (without the Greek and Hebrew normally found in 90+ credit M.Div. degrees). In accordance with military's chaplain policy, Liberty can endorse chaplain candidates who aren't under the under its “Liberty Baptist Fellowship.”
The popularity of Liberty's online chaplain program has some concerned. Some in the military feel that this spike in evangelical chaplains will create an “imbalance” amongst the many religions represented by the military's vast chaplain network. Others express concern that an online program isn't as high-quality as a residential one.
Despite such concern, Liberty's chaplain program has grown from 2 students in 2007 to over 1,000. You can read more at The Christian Century.

