ESR seeks to operate according to these Guiding Principles:

Earlham School of Religion

Is a source of leadership and a resource for renewal among the larger body of Friends

• promotes Quaker scholarship
• offers a point of intersection for Friends of differing beliefs
• best serves students who fall within a range of “progressive evangelical” and “confessing liberal” in the Christian tradition

Educates and prepares students for ministry in the manner of Friends

• best serves Friends who are making or will make a positive difference to the Religious Society of Friends
• believes that discerning the leading of the Holy Spirit lies at the core of ministry preparation
• understands that ministry occurs in a multitude of vocations and contexts

Values students from other faith traditions and other countries

• seeks diversity which contributes to transformative education
• recruits students and faculty from traditions other than Friends and locations other than North America
• best serves some Quakers outside the U.S. through on-line courses and instruction at their home site

Values formative and transformative education

• affirms the academic and intellectual pursuit of theological education and ministry preparation
• offers an holistic approach to theological education and ministry preparation
• creates a community of dialogue, not indoctrination.