Tenri Seminary (天理教校 ''Tenrikyōkō'') is the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

of the

Japanese new religion Japanese new religions are new religious movements established in Japan. In Japanese, they are called or . Japanese scholars classify all religious organizations founded since the middle of the 19th century as "new religions"; thus, the term refe ...

Tenrikyo is a Japanese new religion which is neither strictly monotheistic nor pantheistic, originating from the teachings of a 19th-century woman named Nakayama Miki, known to her followers as "Oyasama". Followers of Tenrikyo believe that God of Origin, ...

, located in Tenri,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

History

In April 1900, Tenri Seminary was established to train and educate Tenrikyo followers in ministry. Initially, the seminary was a four-year course offering coursework at the middle school level along with coursework on Tenrikyo doctrine and rituals. Since its establishment, Tenri Seminary has gone through a number of reorganizations. In 1908, the seminary was reorganized into the six-month Special Course (別科 ''Bekka'') while Tenri Middle School continued as a separate organization. In 1938, the two-year Graduate Seminary program was established and two new courses were added – the Preparatory program which would educate graduates of Tenri Middle School and Tenri Girls School, and the Asian program which would train ministers for mission work in Asia. In April 1941, the seminary underwent another reorganization. The most notable change was that the Special Course, which had trained 128,000 ministers over 65 sessions, was discontinued and replaced by the shorter, three-month Spiritual Development Course (修養科 ''Shūyōka''). From that year onward, five programs were offered – Graduate, Junior, Preparatory, Asian, and Spiritual Development. Eventually the Preparatory and Asian Courses were discontinued and the Spiritual Development Course became a separate organization supervised directly by

Tenrikyo Church Headquarters Tenrikyo Church Headquarters (''Tenrikyo Kyokai Honbu'' 天理教教会本部) is the main headquarters of the Tenrikyo religion, located in Tenri, Nara, Japan. This establishment is significant to followers because it is built around the '' ...

. In April 1977, the five-year Daini Junior Seminary (第二専修科 ''Daini Senshūka'') program was established but was eventually discontinued.''The Teachings and History of Tenrikyo,'' 177.

Programs

As of 2018, Tenri Seminary offers three two-year programs – Junior Seminary (専修科 ''Senshūka''), Graduate Practical Training Program (本科実践課程 ''Honka jissen katei''), and Graduate Research Program (本科研究課程 ''Honka kenkyū katei'').Tenri Seminary. (2017) ''Rikkyo 181-nen do gakkō annai – Tenrikyōkō'' rochure The Junior Seminary is open to Tenrikyo adherents who have completed high school and enrolls approximately 150 students each year. Students take coursework on Tenrikyo scriptures, rituals, and history in the morning and perform various duties at

in the afternoon. The Graduate Practical Training Program combines academic study (of

Tenrikyo theology Tenrikyo theology (天理教学 ''Tenrikyōgaku'') is the theology of the Tenrikyo religion. The discipline of Tenrikyo theology consists of scriptural studies (studies of the ''Ofudesaki,'' ''Mikagura-uta,'' and ''Osashizu''), historical theology ...

, Tenrikyo history, other

major religions The world's principal religions and spiritual traditions may be classified into a small number of major groups, though this is not a uniform practice. This theory began in the 18th century with the goal of recognizing the relative levels of ...

) with pastoral work ( door-to-door missionary work and church management). This program is open to Tenrikyo adherents who have graduated from the Junior Seminary or a four-year college and enrolls approximately 30 students each year. The Graduate Research Program focuses on the academic study of religion and of Tenrikyo theology. During the program, each student works on and completes a thesis pertaining to Tenrikyo theology. On a regular basis, Tenri Seminary publishes the ''Tenrikyōkō Ronsō'' (天理教校論叢), a collection of papers written by lecturers and students of the Graduate Research Program. This program is open to Tenrikyo adherents who have graduated from a four-year college and enrolls several students a year.

History

Programs

References

Further reading