Duke Divinity School’s mission is to engage in spiritually disciplined and academically rigorous education in service and witness to the Triune God in the midst of the church, the academy, and the world. We strive to cultivate a vibrant community through theological education on Scripture, engagement with the living Christian tradition, and attention to and reflection on contemporary contexts in order to form leaders for faithful Christian ministries.

“Transforming Ministry” was adopted by Duke Divinity School during the 75th anniversary in 2001-02 and continues to serve as a major theme.

Transformation includes an appreciation of the past as well as a focus on the future. We seek to embody a vital sense of tradition without lapsing into traditionalism. Church historian Jaroslav Pelikan summarizes the distinction succinctly:

‘Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.’

Transformation also describes what we need as a school: being open to the transformation of our curriculum, our programs, our efforts to learn from the best practices of ministry, and to deepen our understanding so that we may be of more faithful service to the church, to the academy, and to the world.”