Although many schools related to religious organizations hold regional accreditation or secular national accreditation, there are four different agencies that specialize in accreditation of religious schools:
Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools (AARTS)
Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS)
Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE)
Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS)
These groups specialize in accrediting theological and religious schools including seminaries and graduate schools of theology, as well as broader-scope universities that teach from a religious viewpoint and may require students and/or faculty to subscribe to a statement of faith.[citation needed] Additionally, as of 2009, 20 U.S. states and Puerto Rico had some form of exemption provision under which religious institutions can grant religious degrees without accreditation or government oversight.