Westar Institute

The Westar Institute, founded by Robert W. Funk in 1985, is a member-supported nonprofit educational institute with a twofold mission:

Westar is located in Salem, Oregon, on the campus of Willamette University. The institute has a publishing arm in the form of Polebridge Press, which publishes books, media, and two journals:

Westar is managed by a Board of Directors and staff. Membership is divided into Associate Members, who are members of the public, and Westar Fellows, scholars in the field of religious studies or a cognate discipline. Associate membership provides ongoing support for the organization in the form of annual dues, and is open to anyone with an interest in religion. However, scholars must apply to become Fellows. To become a Fellow, a person must hold an "advanced academic degree (Ph.D. or equivalent) in religious studies or related disciplines with accredited universities worldwide." While there is no required religious affiliation, Fellows do commit to the Ethos & Protocol statement, which includes sharing historical-critical research with the public. The approach taken by the Westar Fellows to their research has drawn criticism from a number of directions. See Reactions to Westar below.

Westar sponsors "large-scale, collaborative research projects" called seminars on various topics in early Christian history. The first and most famous of these was the Jesus Seminar on the historical Jesus, which lasted from 1985-1993. Other Westar seminars include the Paul Seminar, Acts of Apostles, Christian Origins, and, currently, the Christianity Seminar. While Scholars communicate throughout the year, twice annually they present papers at national meetings with a public audience. Meetings culminate in votes by both Fellows and Associate Members regarding specific historical assertions.

The concept of voting on aspects of early Christian life and the accuracy of biblical sayings was not a unique innovation of Westar. Rather, it was based on "the disciplined work of Bible translation committees, a very traditional scholarly practice," based in turn on the more ancient Greek voting system that involved dropping colored beads into an urn. Westar Fellows vote as follows:

Votes are weighted according to historicity. The higher the numerical value, the more historical weight is given to a piece of information. Examples from the Jesus Seminar, as recorded in seminar publication The Five Gospels, include:

Because of its emphasis on historical foundations over against dogmatic faith, Westar Institute has been criticized by evangelical and fundamentalist-leaning organizations. This criticism has appeared "almost from the moment that they published their first paper on the life and death of Jesus Christ." Moderators of the faith-based site AllAboutReligion.org provide a relevant example: "Critics of the Jesus Seminar [cry] foul because they say that the Jesus Seminar is not subjective in their findings. This criticism is based on the knowledge that the Jesus Seminar eliminates any evidence they cannot explained using modern scientific principles." Indeed, as the Ethos & Protocol statement of Westar Fellows indicates, the approach of all seminars sponsored by the institute is historical-critical, by definition incongruous with faith-based assertions.

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