Seminary enrollments showing upturn

Total enrollment is up for the first time in four years at seminaries of the Association of Theological Schools—thanks to the addition of 11 new schools to the roster of North America's accrediting organization.

Without those newly admitted seminaries and their fall enrollments of about 1,000 students, officials at the Pittsburgh-based ATS would have noted yet another downward tick in the totals. Instead, the 75,431 students studying for the ministry at 261 institutions rose .6 percent from a year earlier.

Looking at 245 schools that have been members for at least five years, ATS says the news was still good. The decline "has slowed to a rate of .8 percent between 2009 and 2010," said Eliza Smith Brown, director of communications and external relations. It had dropped 3.6 percent in the fall of 2008—the largest single-year drop in four years.