In a recent comment on this blog, Donna B., author of Union, Trueheart, and Courtesy -- a blog well worth reading -- wrote:
I am committed to inquiry without fear and academic freedom, and believe
that it serves students better (despite any ideological "party line" that
might exist at secular schools) than the rather paradoxical attempt to
create liberally educated (that is, "free") human beings through
conservative indoctrination. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
[Sorry, readers, I can't get my Blogger quote thingy to work. --Nancy]
So far a couple of thoughts have gelled, along the lines of advice to prospective Christian college students. Please note that my background is limited mostly to evangelical Christianity tinged with a hint of fundamentalism. I don’t know what the intellectual environment is like at most Catholic colleges, for instance. Here’s my advice:
1) Although there are some outstanding evangelical colleges, “consumers” of Christian education need to know that evangelicalism is well-documented as one of the most anti-intellectual religious traditions around. (One place to begin with this is the Pulitzer Prize-winning Anti-intellectualism in American life by Richard Hofstadter.) Therefore, right off the bat, the odds are stacked against receiving a truly liberal education at an evangelical college.
2) If a school does have a Christian and even an evangelical focus, then intellectual exploration will be enhanced if professors and students come from many different Christian viewpoints. Take a look at the school's statistics concerning how many students come from various denominations: is it overwhelmingly from one denomination? Does the school only hire professors from a particular denomination? If so, then it will probably be difficult to experience there the exchange of ideas that would naturally happen among a more heterogeneous population. Why did my alma mater get it so wrong (at least for me) back twenty years ago? Mostly because the students (and all of the professors) were overwhelmingly from the Church of Christ, which in my opinion was (at the time and in that locality) really "majoring in minors". Beyond bedrock Christian beliefs such as the existence of God and the divinity of Jesus, professors had to defend and promote such lesser principles as acapella singing in worship, a particular hermeneutic, a particular view on baptism, various moral principles, etc. To the degree that you add to the number of "untouchable" doctrines, that is the degree to which intellectual inquiry is stifled.
Prospective students of Christian colleges need to be very cognizant of the mission and purpose of a Christian college. Decide for yourself whether it is to encourage intellectual inquiry, or whether it is to keep their charges “in the fold.” It is often very difficult to achieve both ends.
2 comments:
Richard Hughes has written an article of relevance in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
There are a good deal of Christian schools out there with quite amazing faculty, even if there is relatively little diversity in denominational affiliation. I'd point to Goshen College as one example, whose faculty I believe are overwhelmingly Mennonite, but whose students are pushed to broaden their horizons. I suppose there is the chance for them to be all indoctrinated as liberal, peace-loving, socially-active Mennonites, but it could be worse! :)
What worries me more than school faculty is the student body. Taking Messiah as an example, it's clear that the faculty try to push students out of their comfort zones and think of things in ways that they wouldn't otherwise consider. But the students are, I think, overwhelmingly conservative. Many are generic evangelicals and if they don't major in something that pushes them in "ideas" and instead stick with something like engineering or other "hard" sciences, they may risk not having their minds challenged in the same way. Not that the science programs aren't excellent (they are!), they just don't provide the same opportunity for dialogue on theology, philosophy, pluralism, postmodernity, ethics, social issues, psychology, etc. They just have to make the most of their general education requirements!
Sometimes the students will stick with their friends in a scary groupthink sort of way, viewing their profs as liberal propagandists.
Overall, though, I think that for Messiah, while many students come in close-minded (I certainly did), I think most come out of the four years thinking more broadly and analytically, with a desire to serve. That's my impression. I don't think Messiah is alone there.
Patrick, thank you for sending the link to Richard Hughes' article.
Your point about science/engineering majors vs. other "softer" majors is well-taken. At Harding I was a science major, and most of the other science majors were going into med school. As far as I know, all of them got into med school and I'm sure was well-prepared. But as you said, it is much easier to avoid the "higher" questions in the sciences than in other "softer" programs. Case in point: senior science majors at my school had to take a course, "Christian View of Science and Scripture" that was team taught by science faculty. I was so looking forward to some real discussion of issues such as creationism, medical ethics, etc. Didn't happen...it was strictly a lecture even though it was a smaller class; no discussion of any issues was entertained.
What a lost opportunity...
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