Mission & Vision

MISSION

Progressive theology has long taken shape at Union, where faith and scholarship meet to reimagine the work of justice. Grounded in the Christian tradition and responsive to the needs of God’s creation, a Union education prepares its students for committed lives of service to the church, academy, and society. A Union education develops practices of mind and body that foster intellectual and academic excellence, social justice, and compassionate wisdom. Union forms courageous faith leaders who make a difference wherever they serve.

VISION

Education at Union Theological Seminary is deeply rooted in a critical understanding of the breadth of Christian traditions yet significantly instructed by the insights of other faiths. It makes connections between these traditions and the most profoundly challenging issues of our contemporary experience: the realities of suffering and injustice, world religious pluralism, the fragility of our planet, and discoveries of modern science. Union envisions a future in which teaching and learning continues to be ecumenical in spirit, supporting a record of academic excellence and a deep commitment to social justice. Union envisions its graduates changing the world by practicing their vocations with dedication that bring a religiously grounded, critical and compassionate presence to the major personal, social, political and scientific realities of our time.

Each of us at Union is a stakeholder in a vibrant and historic community where students, alums, faculty, administration, trustees, and fellow seekers of all denominations and many religions, come together to wrestle with the theological and social challenges of our times and to receive inspiration and enlightenment from the wellspring of our common humanity and the Divine we worship and follow. - The Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, President of the Faculty & Johnston Family Professor for Religion and Democracy

Union Theological Seminary has always embodied the freedom to learn and the freedom to teach—ideals that may be more critical than ever to churches and society at this moment in history.

GET THE LATEST NEWS AND EVENTS IN YOUR INBOX! Register Here