Religion In Higher Education

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 first sustained history of the academic study of religion at American universities, The University Gets Religion: Religious Studies in American Higher Education is a timely book that explores the present-day implications of religious studies' Protestant past."--BOOK JACKET.

Winner of a 2013 American Educational Studies Association Critics' Choice Award Drawing on conversations with hundreds of professors, co-curricular educators, administrators, and students from institutions spanning the entire spectrum of American colleges and universities, the Jacobsens illustrate how religion is constructively intertwined with the work of higher education in the twenty-first century. No Longer Invisible documents how, after decades when religion was marginalized, colleges and universities are re-engaging matters of faith-an educational development that is both positive and necessary. Religion in contemporary American life is now incredibly complex, with religious pluralism on the rise and the categories of "religious" and "secular" often blending together in a dizzying array of lifestyles and beliefs. Using the categories of historic religion, public religion, and personal religion, No Longer Invisible offers a new framework for understanding this emerging religious terrain, a framework that can help colleges and universities-and the students who attend them-interact with religion more effectively. The stakes are high: Faced with escalating pressures to focus solely on job training, American higher education may find that paying more careful and nuanced attention to religion is a prerequisite for preserving American higher education's longstanding commitment to personal, social, and civic learning.

This title was first published in 2000. The place of religion in universities and institutes of higher education has become increasingly topical and contested in recent years, largely due to the growth of religious diversity on campus. Issues such as shared worship spaces, equal opportunities, and the management of inter-religious conflict, concern university administrators and students alike. Based on primary empirical research, this book indicates the need for clear guidelines on these issues and provides the data to inform policy-making. Offering the first study of the practical and sociological implications of the multi-faith campus, this book provides a context for examining some of the dynamics of religious diversity in Britain more generally as well as providing a useful analysis for the wider international context. Key themes covered include: religion in institutions; inter-faith relations; the changing roles of religious professionals; secularisation and resacralisation; and religion, youth and identity.

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.

Searching for Spirituality in Higher Education brings together eclectic points of view on spirituality, drawing upon various theoretical perspectives to frame a discussion of spirituality in higher education. Following a comprehensive review of the current literature on spirituality, chapters examine the relationship between religion and spirituality and explore related legal issues. Subsequent theory chapters make no unified claims about the basis of spirituality, reflecting the speculative nature of an ethereal subject. The final section contains rich examples that explore ways to integrate spirituality in several academic disciplines as well as in student affairs. In its entirety, the book encompasses a comprehensive review of the salient issues related to spirituality in higher education. The volume will be useful in courses on religion, nursing, business, and the humanities.

Religion, Scholarship, and Higher Education explores foundational issues surrounding the interaction of religion and the academy in the twenty-first century. Featuring the work of eighteen scholars from diverse institutional, disciplinary, and religious backgrounds, this outstanding collection of essays issues from a three-year Lilly Seminar on Religion and Higher Education. Reflecting the diversity of the seminar participants, this insightful volume presents a wide variety of viewpoints on the role of religion in higher education and different approaches to religiously informed scholarship and teaching. Religion, Scholarship, and Higher Education is distinct in its orientation toward the personal and the practical. Contributors use personal examples to demonstrate how individual religious beliefs and backgrounds shape the way an educator approaches research and teaching. The first part of the book addresses foundational issues, offering a range of perspectives on the current state of affairs and future prospects for the interrelation of religion and academic endeavor. Part II treats specific academic disciplines as they relate to religion and research and provides several models of scholarship grounded in or informed by religious traditions. The final section of the volume presents five different approaches to teaching. Contributors reflect on how religious perspectives or commitments influence the way in which they understand their role as university or college teachers and carry out their responsibilities in the classroom. Sure to capture the interest of scholars, teachers, and administrators alike, this volume features essays from Nicholas Wolterstorff, James Turner, Alan Wolfe, David A. Hollinger, Mark R. Schwehn, John McGreevy, Nancy T. Ammerman, Roger Lundin, Brian E.Daley, S.J., Clarke E. Cochran, Serene Jones, Richard J. Bernstein, Mark A. Noll, Denis Donoghue, Robert Wuthnow, Jean Bethke Elshtain, Susan Handelman, and Francis Oakley.