Faith and Secularisation

Arthur, J. (2006). Faith and secularisation in religious colleges and universities. New York: Routledge.

Arthur examines the trend for religious colleges and universities to become more “mainstream” in response to modernity and, for Catholic institutions, especially in response to Vatican II.  Much of the Catholic response is covered in other readings , but Arthur’s work is informative in placing it in broader comparative context.   He sees an important part of this context to be a worldwide resurgence of religious belief and “new openness to issues in religion within higher education”, and concomitant efforts by religiously-affiliated institutions to “renew and refine their identities” since the mid-1990’s (p. 1).  It is largely a “sequel” to Gallin, 2000 but includes (rather erratically) interspersed histories of Christian, Muslim and Jewish higher education which afford interesting parallels (and some contrasts) to the specific history of Catholic higher education.

Arthur observes that “the public universities founded in nineteenth century America, whilst claiming to be non-sectarian, were in practice and ethos, distinctly Protestant” and that “American Catholic universities were largely founded as a reaction against the prevailing Protestantism found in higher education” (p. 17).  This is a somewhat different interpretation from the idea that Catholic colleges were founded to provide education for Catholics.

Secularisation, “a movement away from traditionally accepted religious norms, practices and beliefs” was seen as the major threat to Catholic education until the 1950’s, when many Catholic and other religiously-affiliated colleges and universities began to “modernize” (p. 22). Arthur notes that Protestant institutions were more likely to embrace modernity, with many (such as Harvard) separating themselves from their religious identity.

Arthur notes that despite secularization (maybe because of it?), since the 1990’s “growing numbers of American students are attending religiously-affiliated universities” and that “these are growing more quickly than secular institutions of higher education” (p. 22).  He also notes the worldwide growth of “fundamentalism”, both generally and in higher education.  However, he also notes that some colleges and universities are “religious” in name only, and that even Catholic universities vary widely in terms of their mission statements and adherence to Catholicism.  He observes that:

“Whilst Catholic colleges and universities want to be seen as Catholic there is simply no agreement among them on how they should be Catholic” (p. 35).

The 2003 USA Conference of Catholic Bishops listed “the essential elements of Catholic identity” in rather broad terms, noting that “Catholic Mission and Identity is freely chosen” (p. 41), a notable contrast to Ex Corde.  The guidelines included “commitment to the poor” (Catholic social justice) and to the pastoral care of students. By comparison, the mission statements of Protestant universities tended to broader and more generally “values-centered” (p. 54) while Muslim and Jewish universities tended to be more emphatic “Islamic” and varied respectively.  However, Adam suggest a general tendency for Western education to “drift away” from its Judeo-Christian foundations and to emphasize academic over religious values in order to be “acceptable to the secular public domain” (p. 67).  This “partial secularization” tends to “the separation of faith from learning and teaching” (p. 106), especially when there is not a deliberate effort to emphasize religious principles.

Arthur includes chapters on governance and academic freedom, but the most relevant and intriguing is chapter 6, “the secularization process”.  He suggests this has not been deliberate but rather a “gradual erosion” of religious identity and “secularly conformity” in response to five factors:

1. Lack of adequate funding from the sponsoring religious body and growing dependence on state and other secular funding: “the temptation of state money in the USA caused many [religious institutions] to depict themselves as secular in order to qualify for these funds” (p. 134).
2. Pluralism and diversity within society: “consequently, religious institutions sought to change their public image” (p. 134)
3. A desire for more autonomy (including academic freedom) from external religious authority
4. Fewer clerics and more lay persons involved in religiously affiliated institutions (one assumes both faculty and administrators, although this is not specified).
5. The desire to “be accepted by secular establishments” as truly “academic” (p. 134)

The chapter provides a detailed list of steps likely to lead to secularization under the headings “Mission and Identity”, “leadership and governance”, “the curriculum”, “religious life and ethos”,  and “community: staff appointments and student selection” .  Several points stand out:

• “the institution moves toward ideas of academic excellence as defined by secular universities and academic subject associations” with “no attempt to integrate religion into all subjects and consequently no attempt at a synthesis of faith and reason” (p. 138-139).
• A move to “establish numerous centers and research units that sit uneasily in relation to the core mission of the university” (p. 139)
• “Marketability is central, whilst questions of securing a meaningful affirmation of religious identity are played down” (p. 141).

In his concluding chapter, Arthur lists possible reasons that students choose to attend such institutions and offers an excellent guide to counteracting “secularization”, summarized as:

• A holistic approach to knowledge that attempts to integrate faith and learning
• A community that offers pastoral care and character-formation
• Opportunities for worship, fellowship and intimate community
• Opportunities for community involvement and service
• A strong and pervasive value framework underpins the whole institution
• A strong theology department and cross-curricula institutes of religion and philosophy
• Endowed chairs with religious themes that mentoring to include staff and students in their aims and activities
• Regular staff development and a focus on the vocation to teach and serve.

He then sets out “strategies for renewal” (i.e. avoiding secularization) under the five headings in the previous chapter, concluding that religiously-affiliated colleges and universities need to “integrate actions with authentic beliefs and values within the religious tradition” (p. 154).

Questions

1. Are there additional reasons why non-Catholic (or even non-religious) students choose a Catholic university?
2. Has emphasis on “academic excellence”, research and “marketability” undermined our Catholic mission, or are these traits essential for survival in today’s world?
3. How does our institution measure up to the eight points listed above?