Christianity and Liberal Education

Abstract

AN CHRISTIAN education and liberal education ever be the same thing? Are they compatible? This question is forced upon us by an interest in some quarters to discover the meaning of Christian education. Are these two concerns contradictory or mutually supporting? Is it possible that Christian education could become the most adequate liberal education? The thesis of this paper is an affirmative answer to this question. Though many of my readers may be sympathetic to the idea, among educators generally it would, I believe, be very unacceptable save with a very few. In the last century or so many negative ideas about religion have developed into stereotypes seldom questioned among the intelligentsia! In such an atmosphere a Christian emphasis in education would seem to be the surest way to destroy the last vestiges of liberal education. The plethora of biases against religion cannot here receive attention, and it will take a major educational effort to get rid of them. Suffice it to point out that the major contradiction between liberal and Christian education which would be most deeply felt by our colleagues would be, as they put it, between education which is neutral and objective and education committed to a point of view. They would see a contradiction between the objectivity which they believe they have and Christian commitment which they would rightly see as having a place in Christian education. Surely most contemporary educators would think Christian education quite at odds with what they believe are their own views and practice. Supposed conflict between Christian and liberal education may be felt more acutely by people in the Church college than anywhere else, since this is probably where the problem is forcing itself most to the forefront of attention. The general rising interest in religion has been making itself felt for some time in church colleges, not that it has brought there any major changes, yet there is a sense of need to respond positively to this strengthening tide of religious concern. Doubtless, in most cases the majority of staff members of these institutions have a sympathetic interest in Christianity, yet there has been little thinking through of the problem of how education can be more Christian and at the same time more liberal, and, as far as the academic program is concerned commitment is certainly much greater to the liberal than to the Christian ideal. The two have not been brought together so that it is believed the furtherance of one means the furtherance of the other, and it appears to be the rule that where recently Christian schools have been re-examining their academic programs much more effort has been given to implementing the liberal arts than the Christian obiective. The * RUSSELL J. COMPTON is Professor of Philosophy at DePauw University. He was the 1954 President of Midwestern NABI and during the same year Program Chairman of the national organization. This article was the Presidential address at the meeting of the Mid-western section at Evanston last February.