Cherry Hill Seminary
Cherry Hill Seminary is an online graduate school for Pagan studies. The school offers Masters degrees in Divinity, Pastoral Counseling, Chaplaincy, Pagan Ministry, and Pagan Studies. Cherry Hill Seminary claims to be "the only online Pagan school that can legally grant degrees and diplomas", though this doesn't quite square with their nonaccredited status. However several states have religious exemption from accreditation because of their beliefs (See Academic accreditation for more information). Despite being unaccredited at this point CHS is highly respected in the Pagan community.
Accreditation
The Cherry Hill Seminary website states that the school is not yet accredited but is seeking accreditation through the Distance Education and Accrediting Commission , an accrediting group recognized by the United States Department of Education. The process is costly and will take several years to complete.
Staff and Business office
Cherry Hill has a business office in South Carolina, and has actual teaching staff.
The school
There are courses in Paganism and Wicca as well as courses related to New Age topics. There is a bookstore for students for educational materials. There is financial aid and students can get tuition refunds if programs are not completed. The seminary also offers non-degree courses for those who do not want to go for a degree and the school has non-degree diplomas. Diplomas include- Life Long Learning, Pagan Pastoral Care for Helping Professionals, Leadership, and Soma/Psyche/Spirit.
Example Courses
- C5101 Ethics & Boundaries
- N6650 Paganism & the Body
- M6208 Addictions & Recovery
- T/N6281 History of Alternate Healing
- P6830 Neurophysiology
- M5000 Holistic Healings
- M5201 Dreams in Spiritual Mentoring
- P5203 Death, Dying and Grieving: Call of the Dark Mother 3
- P5204 Stress, Trauma and Self-Care for Pagans
Theological Educational Equivalency
Despite lack of accreditation one of the CHS alumni was accepted into the Association of Professional Chaplains. The APC requires an Masters of Divinity degree from an accredited seminary or divinity school. There is a book about this written by alumni Reverend Sandra Harris who was awarded the first Pagan M.Div degree in Chaplaincy, the book called "Theological Educational Equivalency- Defending the first Pagan Masters of Divinity degree" details CHS course requirements and how the academic accreditation.