Erskine Declaration

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The Erskine Declaration was a proclamation of students enrolled at Erskine Theological Seminary that declared that racially segregated congregations were inappropriate for most Christian congregations. It became a pattern for several other seminary student bodies to adopt in the 1980s and 1999s.

The Declaration was written by seminary students Maynard Pittendreigh (who served as the Student Body President at the time), Kathleen Murdock, and Will Crum. The impetus for writing the document was that many congregations asking for student preachers to fill their pulpits while their pastors were on vacation refused to allow African Americans or women to preach in their congregations.

The Erskine Declaration stated:

Whereas Scripture teaches us that God created all human life (Genesis 1:27); and

Whereas Peter struggled with his own biases about race and culture and came to acknowledge how God 'accepts people from every nation' (Acts 10:34); and

Whereas Paul wrote that Christianity is offered to people of every race, culture and economic position (Colossians 3:11); and

Whereas Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, commanded us to go into all nations and make disciples; (Matthew 28:19)

We, the Student Body of Erskine Theological Seminary proclaim that it is God's will for each and every denomination, congregation, and gathering of Christians to welcome people of every race, nation, gender, culture, economic position, educational level, or physical circumstance.

With this understanding, the Students of Erskine Theological Seminary declare the following:

1. As students we will no longer agree to serve as visiting preachers in those congregations that do not open the pulpit to all of our students, whether the student is Black or White.

2. As students we will no longer agree to serve as visiting preachers in those congregations that do not open the pulpit to all of our students, whether the student is male or female.

3. As students we will humbly and gently proclaim in our sermons God's love to all people, and we will clarify that this phrase "all people" includes people of every race, nation, gender, culture, economic position, educational level or physical abilities or impairments.

Considered very controversial at the time, the school did not officially recognize the document, but the faculty informally agreed to send student preachers only to those congregations who would accept students regardless of race. It should be noted that the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, the denomination that operates Erskine Theological Seminary, does not ordain women to the offices of Ruling or Teaching Elder out of the conviction that that practice is out of accord with Scripture; that practice, as well as the supplying of student and faculty ministers to churches that do not ordain women, was never effected by the Declaration.

The Declaration was adopted by the Erskine Theological Seminary's student body on February 1, 1980.