Christian students are three times more likely to see their faith deepen in college than wither, because of three factors that are now true on our nation’s campuses:
- The presence of Christian student groups like Cru/Campus Crusade, InterVarsity and the Navigators.
- A most post-modern culture that says all ideas, even faith-based ones, have a place on campus.
- Christian professors who are unafraid to let their presence on campus be known to students.
Sociology
University of Notre Dame
So…everything is okay on campus?
Not exactly.
Students still face a faculty culture that in many ways is radically different than what they experienced at home.
“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.
“Faculty feel most unfavorably about Evangelical Christians. This is the only religious group about which a majority of non-Evangelical faculty have negative feelings.
“71% of Faculty believe that America would be better off if Christian fundamentalists kept their religious beliefs out of politics”
Gary Tobin and Aryeh Weinberg,
Religious Beliefs & Behavior of American Faculty
Institute for Jewish and Community Research
Then what IS happening on campus?
College is a time to examine beliefs, even our most deeply cherished ones. These beliefs can be challenged, and held open to debate. But in many classrooms, faith-based perspectives have been excluded.
Christian professors don’t indoctrinate their students; they don’t proselytize in class. But, they are learning that they don’t have to be ashamed of their faith, and hide it. There are a growing number of Christian professors who see that faith shapes their values – it motivates them to excellence; it helps them to serve students, even when doing so doesn’t further their career; it gives them a humility that we are all learners. They want to be a blessing.
This is true on some campuses, and in some departments. But we have a long way to go, and your support makes an incredible difference in coming alongside these professors with encouragement and ideas.