The Idea of a Christian University: Essays on Theology and Higher Education

Today the academy is in a state of turmoil, torn apart by market-driven pressures, systematic under-funding by central government, demoralized and impoverished standards, overworked and highly stressed staff, increased student numbers and an ever widening division between research-led and teaching-led institutions. All this is a far cry from the religiouslyinspired ideals of Christian higher education which underpinned the foundation of so many centers of learning across the UK, Europe, North America, and Australasia.In this timely and provocative collection of essays, scholars from Australia, Canada, the UK, and the USA reexamine the idea of a Christian university and offer a radical alternative vision for the future of the academy. Theologians from Anglican, Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant traditions engage both with the historic roots from which the idea of the Christian university emerges and with the contemporary challenges and opportunities faced by higher education today. They draw on insights from Christian theology for shaping a new vision for the contemporary academy.… (more)