The Secularization of Campus Religion
This article was published in The Blaze on October 4, 2011.
Colleges and universities pride themselves as being vanguards of pluralism. Nevertheless, in the past decade, more and more institutions have been quietly, but systematically, restricting freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly under the guise of non-discrimination.
Vanderbilt University is seeking to lead the latest of these challenges. It has removed from its anti-discrimination policy language that would protect religious groups and it has gone so far as to challenge the practice of having leaders of Christian organizations lead Bible studies. In a letter to the President of the Christian Legal Society, the acting director of religious life explains that requiring leaders to lead Bible Studies “would seem to indicate that officers are expected to hold certain beliefs.” What an idea! The president of The Democratic Club does not need to know, believe, and promote the principles of the Party?
Carried to its logical extension, the policy means that no organization can maintain integrity of beliefs. Christians can seek to lead Muslim organizations, Muslims can seek to lead Jewish ones, and Wiccans can lead Catholic fellowships. The policy now allows for, and is most likely designed to encourage negative activism where students holding views antithetical to an organization use Alinsky-esque techniques of deception, infiltration and manipulation to assume leadership positions in organizations they seek to destroy from the inside.
Mary Poplin, Professor of Education at Claremont Graduate University and author of a new manuscript titled Is Reality Secular: What if Christianity is True, argues that this is one more step in the West’s long march to secularize the world. Not content with secularizing public life, they have now turned to religious organizations themselves. These efforts are intended to dilute the beliefs of the religiously minded. Nevertheless, young people are defying the secular trend. The Astins’ annual college survey suggests today’s college students are more committed than ever to pursuing spirituality.
The Obama administration has supported secularization in multiple ways from rescinding aspects of the freedom of conscience to requiring faith based initiatives become multi-faith efforts. This past spring, The President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge was sent to thousands of college presidents urging them to create interfaith service projects designed to “build understanding between different communities.” Mark Eddington of Harvard suggests that the campus chapel become an “interfaith laboratory.”
The Obama Administration seemingly believes an unproven but commonly held assumption that it is faith communities that are divisive when in fact, faith communities often fare better together than with secular ones. Filling the campus chapel with interfaith dialogue and projects supports the secular agenda by keeping religious dialogue at the lowest common denominator.
Interfaith work is not new to believing communities and their efforts have never needed secularist prompting. However, interfaith work projects cannot substitute for religious groups on campus because they do not help religious people study and practice their own beliefs.
Clearly, we are witnessing the death of ideological pluralism on campus. The carefully orchestrated assault on religious organizations on college and university campuses contradicts our Constitutional freedoms and it works against the interests of God-fearing students, staff, and faculty. We must never forget that many of our elite educational institutions, including Harvard, Princeton, and Vanderbilt Universities were started by great men of faith who would turn over in their grave if they could see the march of secular humanism and the advance of atheism at the institutions they founded.
Carol M. Swain is Professor of Political Science and of Law at Vanderbilt University. Her most recent book is Be the People: a Call to Reclaim America’s Faith and Promise. E-mail: carol.swain@vanderbilt.edu, Website: www.carolmswain.net, Twitter: carolmswain
6 Responses to “The Secularization of Campus Religion”
How true! Thank you Ms. Swain for the courage to stand for truth and righteousness! What an inspiration you are. Speak on!
I never thought I would live to see my own country literally seek to destroy Christianity. I always thought that would happen many, many years from now. As they seek to vanquish Christianity they set in motion the self-destruction of this great nation the Lord reserved and helped shape, bringing about a great destiny and a form of government for the world to model after. How sad that we have to fight to remember our God and His blessings. May we each wake up to answer the call to defend our God, our Freedoms, our Family, Our Nation. If we each stood up we could remind this administration, this Supreme Court and the rest of the world why we have a Constitution and what principles this Country was founded upon. I’m not speaking of violence, but repenting, returning to our faith’s principles in our own lives and speaking out for truth and righteousness. Coming together to openly say enough is enough.
Chrystina Swain
(not related but I really think you have a great last name!)
The Treaty of Tripoli says: “As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.” Either you were lying or you’re ignorant, you choose. No one should listen to you on the matter at all. This is why I don’t like conservatives, they don’t take the the time to research a topic before making themselves look stupid. And no, I’m not a christian, I’m an Atheist.
Joseph,
Why do liberals always engage in ad hominen attacks? I write as a strong proponent of freedom of speech, worship, and association. We are operating from different planes. Your comment reveals a lack of understanding of the issues at stake. I think you would greatly benefit from doing some basic research about American history, the function of universities, and how they market themselves to the public.
Thank you,
CS
Well, I see you removed my comments can’t handle criticism eh ? I guess that’s what happens when you’re so deep into yourself
I just saw this woman in fox news. She has no idea what secular humanism or atheism is. Look at any study about stigma that includes atheists they are the most stigmatized group there is. They have no political power, and you cherry pick incedents that I’m all but positive are less frequent than christians imposing their beliefs upon others (a school prayer for instance, or public school team that recites a bible verse before they play. She also claimed that secular humanists want everyone to be interfaith… again this proves they have no idea what she’s talking about, secular humanists obviously would hope people give up mythology… not combine it into even more silly nonsensical stories. Also the very fact that christian holidays are massively privelaged over all others is lost to her apparently even thought the country stops out of deference. Also lost on her is that public schools and other public institutions are supposed to avoid endorsing a religion, as is the fact that we are delibarately set up as a secular nation. We were founded by some of the least christian men of their time. I suppose her being on fox news should have cued me in but I am shocked that a professor at a very good university could be so ignorant ( I hope you are willfully ignorant and not plain stupid), but as a black woman standing in the same room as rush limbaugh, sean hannity, louie gomhert, todd akin, ted nugent, and antonin scalia I wouldn’t bet against it. And please don’t respond that southern democrats used to be racist… we all know, and those are the very people you stand in a room with now. Your piece is completely at odds with the actual history of the founding of this country and extant circumstances as well.
Hi Daniel,
Thank you for writing. I agree that the words didn’t come out correctly. Some people push interfaith activities and political correctness as a means to weaken and destroy orthodox religions. The secular humanist have mounted an organized attack against Christianity. As a Christian, I have a moral obligation to fight to maintain my traditions.
Best,
Carol