Interfaith Spiritual Care Across a Career: Deepening Cultural Humility, Leadership, and Multifaith Programming

Interfaith competency is not a destination reached after completing an introductory course. It is a practice that deepens over a career as a chaplain encounters new traditions, revisits assumptions, and takes on broader institutional responsibilities. Senior chaplains often find themselves not only providing direct care across traditions but also leading multifaith programs, educating colleagues, advocating for religious accommodation, and managing the tensions that arise when religious diversity intersects with institutional policy. This course addresses that expanded professional horizon. By the end of this course you will be able to analyze complex interfaith care situations involving multiple traditions simultaneously, design and evaluate a multifaith worship or reflection program for an institutional setting, advocate effectively for religious accommodation within institutional policy frameworks, and mentor less experienced chaplains in the development of their interfaith practice. What you will learn: - Advanced assessment: caring for individuals navigating multiple or contested religious identities - Designing multifaith sacred spaces: principles, negotiation, and implementation in hospitals, prisons, and campuses - Leading multifaith memorial or community mourning services: protocol and theological sensitivity - Religious accommodation advocacy: working with administrators to support minority religious needs - Navigating conflict between religious community leaders and institutional policy - Mentoring in interfaith chaplaincy: how to teach cultural humility rather than just religious facts - Addressing your own tradition's limits: when exclusivist theological commitments require honest disclosure - Research and continuing education in interfaith care: staying current in a growing field The course draws on extended case studies from published chaplaincy literature, policy documents from major health systems and correctional agencies, and primary readings from interfaith theology and chaplaincy education research. Units alternate between advanced case analysis and strategic or programmatic planning tools. Reflection prompts encourage you to examine your own career arc, the evolution of your interfaith practice, and areas of ongoing challenge. Planning templates for multifaith programs and accommodation advocacy strategies are provided as practical resources. This course is designed for experienced chaplains, senior hospital or institutional ministry staff, and chaplaincy supervisors who hold responsibility for interfaith programming or the professional development of others. It is suitable for those who have completed foundational and practical interfaith training and are working in or moving toward leadership roles. Prior professional experience in chaplaincy is assumed.