March 28, 2012 —-

“The proportion of faculty who self-identified as atheist is over five times the proportion of people who self-identified as atheist in the general public.”

  –Gary Tobin and Aryeh Weinberg
Religious Beliefs & Behavior of College Faculty

The university campus. Is it really a hotbed of atheism?

It depends.

More Atheists…

The Institute for Jewish & Community Research commissioned the aforementioned publication. They found higher rates of atheism in the academy than in the general public.  They also found:

  • Most faculty believe in God.
  • Faculty are less likely to say that religion is very important in their daily lives than is the general public.
  • Religious beliefs influence politics, with  secular tending to be liberal politically and critical of American foreign and domestic policies; religious faculty tend to be conservative politically and more positive toward America’s policies.

Prominent Voices…

Atheism is often associated with academics. And their voices receive a lot of attention. Here are two:
Richard Dawkins. Evolutionary biologist and professor for many years at Oxford University.  Author of The God Delusion, which says that belief in God is a delusion — a dangerous delusion that must no longer be tolerated.


Sam Harris A neuroscientist and Stanford grad, Harris has authored The End of Faith and more recently The Moral Landscape in which he argues that science, and not religious faith, should be the basis of morality in modern society.



 

Yet Christianity Flourishes…

However, this does not mean that there are few Christians on the university campus.

  • There are more than 5000 Christian faculty across the country that Faculty Commons keeps in contact with.
  • Nearly half of these receive a Ministry Minute every week where their colleagues share their successes and failures of living as Christian faculty.
  • Almost 300 tell their stories of faith in Christ on MeetTheProf.

There are Bible studies being held among faculty, workshops on being more effective as Christians. Ads in student newspapers and on websites where professors are publicly identifying themselves as believers.

You Can Help…

You can give financially to groups like Faculty Commons and other that work with faculty.

You can pray for professors you know — both Christian and nonChristians — that they will  understand Jesus’ love and forgiveness.

You can drop a note or email to a Christian professor and thank her or him for their witness.