Written by Chesterton House

June 1, 2007

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.

Chesterton House Painting