Religious Universities

[poleboy]

Well...

I don't really know anything about Christian colleges, so this is mostly just wild assumption.
But it's not really a secret that the higher your education and/or intelligence, the more likely it is that you become/are an atheist. Not saying that there are no great minds who are religious, it's mostly a matter of percentages and likelihood. A person like that might be more inclined to take a job at a university/college that had no religious afilliations, being more in tune with that person's view of life. Therefore, I would assume that you would find a better (or at least smarter) faculty at a non-christian college.

But that's just speculation.

 

[Ancientgamer]

Well...

I don't really know anything about Christian colleges, so this is mostly just wild assumption.
But it's not really a secret that the higher your education and/or intelligence, the more likely it is that you become/are an atheist. Not saying that there are no great minds who are religious, it's mostly a matter of percentages and likelihood. A person like that might be more inclined to take a job at a university/college that had no religious afilliations, being more in tune with that person's view of life. Therefore, I would assume that you would find a better faculty at a non-christian college.

But that's just speculation.

Let me just say, this is an unbelievable load of bullshit. Don't make assumptions about something you admittedly know nothing about.

 

[Jovlo]

I attend the catholic university of Leuven in Belgium.
My university might be catholic but they are leaders in the field of stem cell research.
This research has gotten them in trouble with the Vatican before but they refuse to give in to it.
In biology classes, the professor only briefly mentioned creationism as a theory because she had to and then went on comparing the emergence of life to passing wind in a bathtub. (Really, she did that.)

Whatever you're studying here, you always get a class of religion in one of your years.
These classes were about what theology was, and how science and religion can go together. (not going further in to this)
It wasn't about creationism but how Darwin changed the world as we know it, the ethics of animal wellfare and consumer rights.
I was very skeptical about these classes at first but they gave me some great new insights and made my once die hard atheist self agnostic.

Of course this is Europe, and religion is no longer what it is in the States today.
Just wanted you to know that not all catholic universities see the Bible as an absolute truth.

 

[Ancientgamer]

I think I may have over reacted before, as I have a rather involved relationship with several christian universities. Let me just say to the OP, christen universities are not regulated by the goverment, If you go to a good one, you won't encounter sub-par faculty. And they'll keep in line with you're beliefs with going berserk puritan style, That's all there is to it. It's not much different from other collages except most of the other students will probably be christian on some level.

 

[Flying-Emu]

You'd be hard-pressed to find a reputable university, Christian or not, that doesn't teach the theory of evolution. And no self-respecting professor would say that the theory has no "holes", since all theories do.

Whatever your view may be, evolution is science, and will be taught as such. So you don't need to worry about that.

Never did I say that I didn't want them to teach evolution. Read the post; I implied that I didn't have strong feelings towards either side. That was just an example I threw out there.

*EDIT*

But it's not really a secret that the higher your education and/or intelligence, the more likely it is that you become/are an atheist.

Um. There are a lot of scientists who believe that life is too complex to be anything but designed. Scientists as in PhDs. So apparently it is a secret.

 

[Chaz D]

You'd be hard-pressed to find a reputable university, Christian or not, that doesn't teach the theory of evolution. And no self-respecting professor would say that the theory has no "holes", since all theories do.

Whatever your view may be, evolution is science, and will be taught as such. So you don't need to worry about that.

Never did I say that I didn't want them to teach evolution. Read the post; I implied that I didn't have strong feelings towards either side. That was just an example I threw out there.

Neither did I imply that that's what you said. I simply responded to your issue about not wanting a professor who wouldn't teach evolution. I made no assumption whatsoever about your opinion of evolution.

 

[Erana]

My school started out Protestant, but has become secular. However, the school maintains a strong, friendly relationship with the specific church it was originally affiliated with, and holds ceremonies 'n such in it. And there are some holiday events, too, but not in a creepy convert-tastic way. In a loving, tender, "We love all God's people" sort of way.

 

[mokes310]

I'm asking you all; Are Christian colleges required to teach things that may go against Christian belief? Is there any control over that by the federal government, or is it all under state jurisdiction? And for the sake of argument, SHOULD the Feds place restrictions on it?

If it's a private school, then they can teach whatever they want. They could teach you that the sky is green so long as the school isn't state funded. There is no control by the Federal or State government over curiculum (spelling?).

 

[Rolling Thunder]

But it's not really a secret that the higher your education and/or intelligence, the more likely it is that you become/are an atheist.

Cite your sources or be damned forever.

 

[cuddly_tomato]

But it's not really a secret that the higher your education and/or intelligence, the more likely it is that you become/are an atheist.

Cite your sources or be damned forever.

He did:-

so this is mostly just wild assumption.

 

[Maze1125]

This is interesting:

http://w-uh.com/posts/031226a-religion_vs_IQ.html

 

[Dele]

Evolution doesn't really defy the Bible; Creationism was created because of a fanboy calculating that the events of the book would have taken 6000 years.

So Earth was created just after the wheel was invented? I think that alone should make poleboys argument creditable.

 

[Seldon2639]

So, I'm a sophomore knee-deep in the college discovery process. I've been receiving a lot of letters from Christian universities, as well as a few from non-religious ones.

I'm a Christian, yes, but I'm also logical. I'm fiddling with the idea of attending a Christian college, but I'm held back from going all-out for it by a few things. Namely if they are required to teach non-religious views on certain subjects, such as Evolution/Creationism. Personally, I have a mixture of views on that topic, so I'm worried about having a professor who just rattles on about how there's no holes in the evolutionary theory, OR one who dismisses evolution as rubbish.

I'm asking you all; Are Christian colleges required to teach things that may go against Christian belief? Is there any control over that by the federal government, or is it all under state jurisdiction? And for the sake of argument, SHOULD the Feds place restrictions on it?

Also, if anybody has a college they could recommend and possibly describe to me (and the college happens to be in or around the United States Northwest), I'd love it if you'd take the time to PM me.

Okay, I'm going to do my best to answer your question as you posed it. Depending on how connected to the state/federal government the school is, it would be under the same accreditation requirements as any other college/university (and you wouldn't want to go to an unaccredited school). In that case, there's a pretty good chance that they would have to teach some minimum of science. So, my guess (just looking at the accreditation issue) would be that there'd be a "this is what science says" class by itself. On the issue of funding, this is where it gets fun. Your school will most likely be accountable to all state and federal laws, given that they *are* state funded. Pell grant (as well as any federally subsidized loans) money the school gets (in this case, the student gets and pays the school) gives the government limited control over them. It's why there are certain private religious universities which reject and state money (your school likely wouldn't be one of them).

The main differences you'll find between a christian school and a secular one will be the environment. Baylor, which is in Waco, Texas, for instance, doesn't allow any alcohol consumption (even for those over 21) and forbids dancing. Not all examples are as seemingly crazy, but you'll find a very different atmosphere. I'd suggest you spend some time at both types of school (shadowing, maybe talk to some people who go there), and see which fits you better

On the should issue: of course the government should have control over it. Not only does it have a compelling interest in making sure that the students who graduate college have roughly comparable levels of knowledge, but also to make sure that such students are taught correct knowledge. Beyond that, since a degree from an accredited university means something in and of itself, the government has a responsibility to make sure that there are standards to be met.

 

[cuddly_tomato]

Evolution doesn't really defy the Bible; Creationism was created because of a fanboy calculating that the events of the book would have taken 6000 years.

So Earth was created just after the wheel was invented? I think that alone should make poleboys argument creditable.

Nobody with a functioning brain takes the Bible literally.

No atheist with a functioning brain thinks that taking the Bible literally is the common view of religious Christians.

So no, his argument isn't credible.

 

[L33tsauce_Marty]

If they allow free thinking its fine with me.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

I was going to rip Dele a new one, but cuddly has done it for me....damn.

Dele, you are a fool and a misanthrope.

 

[goodman528]

Bob Jones seems like a big name in Christian universities. But would you really want to go to a little known christian university? What if you want to work in oil fields in the Middle East in the future? And do you really want to go to a university with so many rules on behaviour?

What subject are you doing? I think if you are doing arts and literature, and want to end up doing something religion related, then fair enough. But if you are doing science, then going to a religious university will probably look bad for you. Even though you might be taught exactly the same stuff, because reputation does count for something. As for Maths and engineering, I really don't think it matters.

As for scientists who are religious, I have a theory that mathematicians and engineers are a lot more likely to believe in God than Scientists. Because maths people grasp with abstract ideas all day; and engineers design stuff they can't see or feel, but knows it exists. Electricity for example, all of the theory on how the semiconductor junctions work is just theoretical, we know everything about how it works, but nobody's ever seen the individual elctrons going around as the theory describes. For all I know, there could be little fairies in those transistors, but as long as the equations holds, I really don't care.

 

[edinflames]

So, I'm a sophomore knee-deep in the college discovery process. I've been receiving a lot of letters from Christian universities, as well as a few from non-religious ones.

I'm a Christian, yes, but I'm also logical. I'm fiddling with the idea of attending a Christian college, but I'm held back from going all-out for it by a few things. Namely if they are required to teach non-religious views on certain subjects, such as Evolution/Creationism. Personally, I have a mixture of views on that topic, so I'm worried about having a professor who just rattles on about how there's no holes in the evolutionary theory, OR one who dismisses evolution as rubbish.

I'm asking you all; Are Christian colleges required to teach things that may go against Christian belief? Is there any control over that by the federal government, or is it all under state jurisdiction? And for the sake of argument, SHOULD the Feds place restrictions on it?

Also, if anybody has a college they could recommend and possibly describe to me (and the college happens to be in or around the United States Northwest), I'd love it if you'd take the time to PM me.

I don't want to offend, be rude, or to hurt anyone's feelings (and ultimately it depends on what subject you intend to study as much as anything) but if you want to be Academically Correct in what you know and understand to be true don't attend a religious institution of education.

If for example you want to study biology or ecology then evolution is going to be a BIG part of that study; if you attend a secular (non-religious) university and study in that field the evidence for evolution is overwhelming (we have come a LONG WAY since Darwin, his ideas have been improved upon to such an extent that evolution is effectively proven), but if you go to a christian university then they will spoon feed you pseudo-scientific garbage in order to support their own doctrine of creationism - the only evidence for which comes from (you guessed it) the Bible.

Personally I don't think evolution and god are incompatible concepts, but evolution and the conventional christian understanding of god are incompatible.

Ultimately its down to you what you believe, but its worth remembering that the Christian Science academic community is a lot smaller and (because much of what they teach is not academically correct) totally looked down on by the real academic world.

 

[beddo]

University should be about learning. I would go to the one with the best reputation that offers the best and/or most suitable courses for me.

As for a Christian college, who knows? Why not phone up and ask what they teach? I'm sure they won't burn you at the stake for using numbers instead of Roman Numerals, they might for using negative numbers though!