Online graduate program helping working professionals integrate Christian faith with everyday life, vocation and whole-person formation
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (May 28, 2026) — Most theology degrees are built for people headed to the pulpit. Belmont University’s new Master of Arts in Christian Faith and Life is built for the pew –– and everywhere life goes from there.
Led by theology faculty in Belmont's College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, the fully online, 30-credit program draws in professors from nursing, law, business, medicine and the arts to teach alongside them. The result is a graduate experience designed for whole-person formation, equipping students to lead, serve and make decisions with deeper faith and clearer purpose.
"Many people experience a quiet fragmentation between faith and everyday life. Too often, theological education and professional formation exist in separate worlds,” said program director Dr. Kevin Trowbridge. “This program brings them together, giving students a space to explore deep questions about meaning, vocation, suffering and calling through the lens of Christian faith."
Business faculty and theology faculty come together around questions of social entrepreneurship and the common good. Law faculty bring their practice into what it means to serve community and pursue justice. When nursing faculty and theology faculty examine suffering and death together, the conversation changes. At Belmont, faith is not a separate conversation from the work students already do. It is the foundation for a more examined, purposeful life.
Though coursework is fully online and asynchronous, the program anchors students in community at two points. Students begin with an on-campus orientation at Belmont, building relationships with faculty and peers. The program culminates in an in-person capstone weekend, where students complete a final project connecting their Christian faith to their field or area of interest and present to faculty and peers.
“I have always seen a meaningful connection between faith and the profound human moments we encounter in health care: suffering, death, healing and hope,” said Dr. Amy Rasmussen, assistant dean and assistant professor of nursing, Inman College of Nursing, and faculty member in the M.A. in Christian Faith and Life. “I look forward to helping students explore these realities as both individual and communal experiences through the lens of faith.”
This is not a seminary degree. It is built for working professionals who want to actively integrate their Christian faith into their vocation and everyday life. No theological background required or intention of ordination assumed. The only prerequisite is a desire to understand their calling more deeply and live it more fully.
Applications are now open. The program is pending final approval by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, with enrollment open for a fall 2026 start.
About Belmont University
Located near the heart of thriving Nashville, Tennessee, Belmont University consists of nearly 9,000 students who come from every state and 33 countries. The University is nationally recognized for its innovative approach as well as its commitment to undergraduate teaching (U.S. News & World Report). As a Christ-centered, student-focused community, Belmont’s mission is to develop diverse leaders of purpose, character and wisdom who possess a transformational mindset and are eager and equipped to make the world a better place. With more than 115 areas of undergraduate study, 41 master’s programs and eight doctoral degrees, Belmont University aims to be the leading Christ-centered university in the world, producing leaders who will radically champion the pursuit of life abundant for all people. For more information, visit http://www.belmont.edu.
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