Anti-intellectualism in the early Churches of Christ?

Update: When I wrote this piece, I did not know (but should have) that the Churches of Christ had, by the mid-1860's, begun many colleges, academies, and seminaries, so my point in the sixth paragraph about "a denial [by those in the Church of Christ] of the value of education for preachers and those in the pew alike" is incorrect. A friend called to my attention that by that time, the CofC was known for its interest in education. I should have remembered this from reading Richard Hughes' book, Reviving the ancient faith: the story of Churches of Christ in America.

Anti-intellectualism is my mini-obsession of late. But what exactly is it? Yesterday I read a great article that attempted to define it, written by Daniel Rigney entitled, "Three kinds of anti-intellectualism: Rethinking Hofstadter" (published in 1991 in Sociological Inquiry 61(4)). Rigney analyzes Hofstadter's Anti-intellectualism in American life and comes up with three types of anti-intellectualism, in a nutshell, below (drum roll, please):

1) Anti-rationalism. There are two strands of this. One is the view that emotion and reason are polar opposites and that emotion is much to be preferred since it is warm, touchy-feely, and spirit-filled. The second strand is absolutism vs. relativism. This arises from the fear that reason leads to the questioning of moral absolutes and ultimately to the view that all morals are relative.

2) Anti-elitism. This is especially seen in American history, where a rebellion against hierarchies and an emphasis on democracy often led to a suspicion of intellectuals and an elevation of "common sense" above theory.

3) Unreflective instrumentalism. This is defined by Rigney as "devaluation of forms of thought that do not promise relatively immediate practical payoffs." A perfect example of this is the concept of higher education as simply a means to an end-- marketable skills -- and not of learning for learning's sake.

So, my question to you, dear reader, is: do any of these types of anti-intellectualism describe your church, school, or community? I am most familiar with the Churches of Christ and found that the answer was not so clear-cut. (This is based on personal experience as well as Richard Hughes' excellent history, Reviving the ancient faith: the story of the Churches of Christ in America.)

On the one hand, in the early CofC (not so much now) there was a denial of the value of education for preachers and those in the pew alike; it was even seen as harmful to the clear interpretation of scripture which, after all, could be understood by anyone who was able to read it. The church was largely from the ranks of poor people in those days, so there was a strong anti-elitist strain as well. (Take a look at any CofC parking lot and you'll see why this view is largely absent from the CofC now.)

On the other hand, the dominant strain in the early CofC was very anti-emotional and frowned on revival- type methods; faith was often stressed as simply an assent to logical propositions; much of the preaching was on the logical framework of the church's doctrines; and many preachers were fond of flexing their logical muscles in debates with leaders from other (and their own) denominations.

For those of you out there who are familiar with the CofC, what do you think? And for those of you from other traditions, do you see any of these three types today?