Religious Ideas for Secular Universities

by Sommerville, C. John

• ISBN13: 9780802864420
• ISBN10: 0802864422
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-11-10
• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co

Summary

During the Last Century American students and scholars have found it increasingly difficult to discuss the relation of religion to the mission of self-consciously secular colleges and universities. Respected scholar C. John Sommerville here offers thought-provoking reflections on this subject in a conversational style.

Author Biography

C. John Sommerville is professor emeritus of history at the University of Florida, a member of the Institute of Advanced Study at Princeton, and senior fellow at Harvard's Center for the Study of World Religions. His other books include The Decline of the Secular University and How the News Makes Us Dumb.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
The Crisis of the Secular University
Secularist Education Becomes Problematic	p. 3
Secularization Creates the Corporate University	p. 19
Defining Religious and Secular Arguments	p. 32
Why Christianity and Secularization Need Each Other	p. 48
Scholars Recover the Human Difference	p. 65
Judging Religions, and Especially Christianity
How We Judge Religions	p. 81
How Does Christianity Come Out?	p. 91
Theocracy versus Christianity	p. 101
Scholars Assess the Western Bible
How the Bible Works: Narrative Theory	p. 113
How the Bible Was Chosen and What Makes It One Book	p. 124
The University and the Culture Wars
A Brief History of Our Culture Wars	p. 143
The Child as Secular Icon	p. 156
News as Culture Substitute	p. 168
Spirituality and Decadence	p. 177
Index	p. 18
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