Duke Divinity School has announced a new Certificate in Latinx Studies designed to prepare students for ministry in Hispanic/Latinx churches and communities in the U.S.

Peter Casarella, professor of theology and faculty director for the certificate, said the certificate is an important step forward for the school in preparing students to serve in these communities. “Latinx communities are a genuine gift to the church,” he said. “They are young, vibrant, and heterogenous in themselves. This certificate is the first of its kind and prepares students at Duke Divinity not only to engage the vitality of the Brown church but to prepare interculturally and ecumenically for theology and ministry while being nurtured and enriched by the company of the poor.”

The certificate can be earned as part of the M.Div., M.T.S., and M.A. in Christian Practice degrees. Students in the program will take courses in Latinx theology, participate in the Caminantes advanced spiritual formation program, and, in the case of M.Div. students, have at least one field education placement or contextual engagement project in a Hispanic/Latinx ministry setting. 

Through the certificate program, students will practice and hone skills for ministry while becoming part of a learning community that is committed to Hispanic/Latinx communities and seeks to learn from Hispanic/Latinx traditions and cultures.

Said Divinity School Dean Edgardo Colón-Emeric, “I am excited by this new certificate’s focus on God’s pilgrimage with the Latinx people. This program is a key component of the architecture of peace that will help the Divinity School be and become a santuario (sanctuary) for Christian, anti-racist, embodied wisdom.”