LOUISVILLE — A new doctorate program at a conservative Baptist seminary will explore the life lessons of the Bible at a time when self-help spirituality is being popularized by celebrities like Oprah.
The spirituality doctorate at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary arrives at a time when the cultural interest in spirituality — and disinterest in organized religion — is growing, said Michael Haykin, a church history professor in the seminary's Ph.D. program.
"The way the word (spirituality) is used broadly in our culture, it's very eclectic and it can mean whatever a person wants it to mean," Haykin said. "So we're trying to ground it in a certain context."...