Faith & College

 Just a few years ago, nobody seemed interested in talking about religion. How things change.

In a much-discussed CHE article from a couple of years ago, Stanley Fish wrote the following: "When Jacques Derrida died I was called by a reporter who wanted to know what would succeed high theory and the triumvirate of race, gender, and class as the center of intellectual energy in the academy. I answered like a shot: religion.” The article, entitled One University Under God? is well worth reading.

Also worth reading--when you have a bit more time--is the Social Science Research Coucil's Forum on the Religious Engagements of American Undergraduates. There are many, many fine articles here, including:

Elaine Howard Ecklund, Religion and Spirituality among University Scientists

Neil Gross, How Religious are America’s College and University Professors?

Rebecca Y. Kim, Asian Americans for Jesus: Changing the Face of Campus Evangelicalism

John Schmalzbauer, Campus Ministry: A Statistical Portrait

Robert Wuthnow, Can Faith Be More Than a Side Show in the Contemporary Academy?

The site also provides an online guide as a kind of summary of the research. (See especially Craig Calhoun's preface to the guide.) The online guide is full of links to an annotated bibliography and other web resources.