Faith Freedom And Higher Education

While debates abound today over the cost, purpose, and effectiveness of higher education, often lost in this conversation is a critical question: Should higher education attempt to shape students' moral and spiritual character in any systematic manner as in the past, or focus upon equipping students with mere technical knowledge? Faith, Freedom, and Higher Education argues that Christianity can still play an important role in contemporary American higher education. George M. Marsden, D. G. Hart, and George H. Nash, among its authors, analyze the debate over the secularization of the university and the impact of liberal Protestantism and fundamentalism on the American academy during the twentieth century. Contributors also assess how the ideas of Dorothy Sayers, C. S. Lewis, Wendell Berry, and Allan Bloom can be used to improve Christian higher education. Finally, the volume examines the contributions Christian faith can make to collegiate education and outlines how Christian institutions can preserve their religious mission while striving for academic excellence.

The Christian College and the Meaning of Academic Freedom is a study of the past record and current practice of the Protestant colleges in America in the quest to achieve intellectual honesty within academic community. William C. Ringenberg lays out the history of academic freedom in higher education in America, including its European antecedents, from the perspective of modern Christian higher education. He discusses the Christian values that provide context for the idea of academic freedom and how they have been applied to the nation's Christian colleges and universities. The book also dissects a series of recent case studies on the major controversial intellectual issues within and in, in some cases, about the Christian college community. Ringenberg ably analyzes the ways in which these academic institutions have evolved over time, outlining their efforts to evolve and remain relevant while maintaining their core values and historic identities.

Even casual acquaintances of the Bible know that the Truth shall set you free, but in the pursuit of that Truth in higher education--particularly in Christian or Jewish seminaries--there are often many casualties suffered along the way. What happens when faculty and students at religious academies butt heads with senior staff or dare to question dogmas or sacred cows that the institution cherishes? Consider No Evil examines seminaries affiliated with two faith traditions--Christian and Jewish--and explores the challenges, as well as prospective solutions, confronting those religious academies when they grapple with staying true to their traditions, as they interpret them, while providing an arena that incubates honest and serious scholarship.

Religion and Higher Education in Europe and North America illuminates the experiences of staff and students in higher education as they negotiate the university environment. Religious extremism has been rising across Europe, whilst recent attacks have thrown public debate around the place of religion on campus, the role of universities in recognising and managing religious fundamentalism and freedom of speech on campus into sharper focus. Despite these debates, research exploring religion on campus has been largely absent from discourse on higher education outside of America, with policy and practices designed to deal with religion on campus largely founded on supposition rather than evidence. This book speaks into that void, including results from recent studies in the field which form an empirically grounded base from a broad variety of perspectives on religion at universities. Aiming to offer a deeper perspective, more dialogue, and engagement on the experiences of students, Religion and Higher Education in Europe and North America presents us not only with an opportunity to counter growing trends of intolerance, but for people to connect with the humanity of others. Focusing on what research reveals about staff and students’ experiences, it incorporates research from different academic disciplines including sociology, education, social policy, theology and religious studies, and across different faith and belief groups. This thought-provoking and challenging volume features chapters written by researchers involved in informing policy and practice relating to religion and belief in higher education in the UK, US, Canada, France and the Netherlands . Spanning the academic-practitioner divide, students and academics interested in the sociology of religion and of higher education, as well as those responsible for the practical management of campus life, will find this text of particular importance.

The dawning of the third millennium finds many Christian colleges and universities in a search for identity. Coming to grips with the confused, often maligned topic of academic freedom is an essential part of this search. In this volume an unabashed defender of academic freedom offers well-founded advice to an academy that has seemingly lost its way. Drawing on forty years in higher education, including twenty years as president of Calvin College, Anthony Diekema reflects on the extensive scholarly literature on academic freedom against the backdrop of personal experience. He develops the larger philosophical framework necessary for thinking about academic freedom but also offers pointed advice gleaned from specific events and challenges to academic freedom that he has personally confronted. This balanced approach provides a seasoned perspective for those struggling with the subject of academic freedom in their own institutions. In the course of the book Diekema develops a sound working definition of the concept of academic freedom, assesses the threats it faces, acknowledges the significance of worldview in its implementation, and explores the policy implications for its protection and promotion in Christian colleges.

For much of the twentieth century, it was assumed that higher education was and ought to be a secular enterprise, but that approach no longer suffices. The culture has shifted, and contemporary college and university students are increasingly bringing religious and spiritual questions to campus. In response, college and university leaders are exploring anew the relationship between religion and higher education. The American University in a Postsecular Age grapples with key questions: --How religious or irreligious are faculty and students today? What level of religious literacy should be expected from students? --Can religion be allowed into the classroom without being disruptive? --Should colleges and universities help students reflect on their own faith? --Is religion antithetical to critical inquiry? --Can religion have a positive role to play in higher education? This is a state-of-the-art introduction to the national discussion about religion and higher education. Leading scholars and top educators express a wide spectrum of opinions that reflect the best current thinking. Introductory and concluding essays by the editors describe the postsecular character of our age and propose a comprehensive framework intended to facilitate ongoing conversation.

This book is a detailed study of higher education institutions affiliated to particular religions. It considers the debates surrounding academic freedom, institutional governance, educational policy, mission and identity together with institutions’ relations with the state and their wider communities. A wide range of institutions are examined, including: Christian, Islamic and Jewish universities in the US, Europe and the Middle East. Essentially, this volume questions whether such institutions can be both religious and a ‘university’ and also considers the appropriate role of religious faith within colleges and universities.