page_title: Chicago Theological Seminary
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Chicago Theological Seminary / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Outside view of new Chicago Theological Seminary building
context_page_description: Founded in 1855, the Chicago Theological Seminary is the oldest higher education institution in the City of Chicago and was founded with two principal goals: first, to educate pastors who would minister to people living on the new western frontier of the United States and second, to train ministers who would advance the movement to abolish slavery. Originally established in 1855 under the direction of the abolitionist Stephen Peet and the Congregational Church by charter of the Illinois legislature, CTS has retained its forward-looking activist outlook throughout its history, graduating alumni who include Civil Rights activists Jesse Jackson, Sr. and Howard Schomer, social reformer Graham Taylor, and anti-Apartheid activist John W. de Gruchy. It is one of six seminaries affiliated with the United Church of Christ and follows an ecumenical tradition that stresses cooperation between different Christian denominations as well as interfaith understanding.
  The seminary has counted many highly respected religious activists and theologians among its faculty and alumni, including G. Campbell Morgan, Anton Boisen, Stephen G.
context_section_description: Unintimidated by controversy, Chicago Theological Seminary has enjoyed a distinguished record of setting trends in American faith life and leadership for more than a century. 
  In the 1850s and 1860s, CTS founder Stephen Peet was a leader in a new generation of 19ᵗʰ Century American abolitionists no longer content to wait patiently for the end of slavery nor to tolerate those who defended it. Under his leadership, the seminary was active in the Underground Railroad and was a leading voice in the Christian Abolitionism movement.  
  The very first CTS curriculum in 1855 was provided for a scattering of students among congregations and missions across the Midwest. Students were encouraged to learn by direct experience the facts of community life and church needs in a restless, experimental culture. Although such a practice was unknown at that time, this curriculum was the beginning of the first field education component ever introduced into seminary education. Field education is now a part of every accredited professional theological degree program.
caption: The Chicago Theological Seminary at its new location in Hyde Park, Chicago
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