Faith, Freedom, and Higher Education

Description: 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. Endorsements: --Paul Kemeny has assembled a sparkling collection of essays. Their consistently thought-provoking contributions to the general theme of Christianity and higher education include sharply focused studies on important individuals (C. S. Lewis, Wendell Berry, Dorothy L. Sayers), important institutions (Princeton University), important interpretive questions (the rise of the secular university, the advantages of exclusion), and more. Readers . . . will be amply rewarded by reading this book.-- --Mark A. Noll, Professor of History, University of Notre Dame --The role of Christianity in higher education has changed tremendously since the founding of America's great colleges and universities. This collection of essays, written by Christian scholars, encourages the insightful contemplation and consideration of the impact and role of faith and freedom in the world of higher education today.-- --David R. Rathburn, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Grove City College --What is refreshing about this collection of essays on faith and freedom in higher education is it is fundamentally forward looking. . . . Despite the darkness of the present moment, faith and freedom can flourish in American higher education. Anyone interested in hastening the day when that flourishing happens will want to consult this fine volume.-- --Robert P. George, Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University About the Contributor(s): P. C. Kemeny, editor, is Professor of Religion and Humanities at Grove City College. He is the author of Princeton in the Nation's Service (1998).