[lg policy] US: Divinity Schools: Stop Using ‘He’ or ‘Him’ to Refer to God

[Harold Schiffman]

 Divinity Schools: Stop Using ‘He’ or ‘Him’ to Refer to God
By Jillian Kay Melchior | 1:29 pm, January 15, 2017

Guidelines at two top U.S. divinity schools have recommended professors use
“inclusive” gender-neutral language—including for God, according to
documents from both Duke and Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt’s 2016-2017 catalog
<http://www.vanderbilt.edu/catalogs/documents/divinity.pdf> says the
divinity school “commits continuously and explicitly to include gender as
an analyzed category and to mitigate sexism” in its teachings. “This
includes consistent attention to the use of inclusive language, especially
in relation to the Divine,” the divinity school catalog says.

Melissa Snarr, the associate dean for academic affairs at Vanderbilt’s
divinity school, said in an emailed statement that the 2016-2017 guidelines
actually stem from a policy that dates back to 1999.

That document states that “masculine titles, pronouns, and imagery for God
have served as a cornerstone for the patriarchy,” while also noting that
not all of God’s names are gendered. It recommended “exploration of fresh
language for God.”

Vanderbilt faculty vary in their views about how to express the divine,
Snarr said. “It is up to the individual professor’s interpretation for
their classes and is suggestive rather than mandatory,” she said of the
2016-2017 guidelines.

Duke’s divinity school has a more detailed set of guidelines
<https://divinity.duke.edu/sites/divinity.duke.edu/files/documents/scos/COS%20%20Inclusive%20Language%20Policy.pdf>—but
also one that applies to fewer of its students.

The “inclusive language” guidelines were created for a divinity school
program geared toward people already working in the Methodist church,
taking supplemental weekend or summer classes. That’s “a totally different
path than matriculated students,” said a Duke spokeswoman.

Duke’s guidelines offers suggestions “as a beginning point for developing a
more inclusive language about God.”

Those suggestions include avoiding gender-specific pronouns, instead using
“God” and “Godself.”

The Duke guidelines also suggest professors forgo gendered metaphors for
God. For instance, a professor might say “God is a parent to us all”
instead of “a father.” Another option: Mixing gender in metaphors. A
professor could say, for example, “God is the father who welcomes his son,
but she is also the woman searching for the lost coin.”

“Referring to God in gender-neutral language can sound clumsy,” the Duke
guidelines say, “but this is largely due to the fact that we are in a
transitional period with our use of language. Imagination, patience, and
diligence are required in order to use language that expands and enriches
our understanding of God.”

Other prominent universities have also wrestled with how inclusive language
policies relate to their divinity programs.

Notre Dame’s Theology Department issued a statement
<http://theology.nd.edu/about/inclusive-language-statement/> recognizing
“the ongoing debate and conflicting views about gender-sensitive language
for God.” In the end, it opted to issue no formal policy, leaving the
decision to professors.

And the editors of the *Harvard Theological Review* took a more hardline
approach, writing
<http://hds.harvard.edu/faculty-research/research-publications/harvard-theological-review/prospective-authors>
that “it is not always appropriate to employ inclusive language when
referring to God or divine beings.”

— *Jillian Kay Melchior writes for *Heat Street* and is a fellow for the
Steamboat Institute and the Independent Women’s Forum*.

https://heatst.com/culture-wars/divinity-schools-stop-using-he-or-him-to-refer-to-god/


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