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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodist News |
January 2002 |
Commentary:
United Methodist colleges aren't what they used to be
By Riley B. Case
At one time to be a Methodist (or United Brethren or Evangelical) college meant something. The president and a significant number of the faculty were Methodist. The school sought to model a Christian community. Required courses in religion and Bible were taught from a Christian and Methodist perspective. There was regular contact with area Methodist churches. There were opportunities for Christian enrichment and Christian outreach. The school reflected Methodist beliefs and values.
But in an increasingly secular academic world, such Methodist education apparently seemed parochial and sectarian. Religious tests of faculty were seen as a denial of academic freedom. "Pluralism" and "diversity" demanded Christianity be given no special preference. And so these colleges, covetous of recognition in the secular world, successfully sought independence from church control and influence.
DePauw University serves as an example of the new reality. The school was once the "crown jewel" of Methodist colleges. All of its presidents (until the present one) were Methodists. Six became bishops. In the first third of the twentieth century 30 percent of the Methodist preachers in North Indiana who went to college went to DePauw. The school attracted Methodist students who were given a Methodist education by Methodist faculty in order to serve a greater world.
Admissions counselors are known to suggest to prospective students that the presumed United Methodist relationship means nothing. There are no references to a Christian or United Methodist connection in the student handbook or in promotional material. The school's once highly touted mission projects have been taken from the office of the chaplain, given a name change so that the word "mission," which implies some Christian connection, would be removed, and the previous symbol of the projects, the Jerusalem cross, replaced with a "compassionate rose." Indiana conferences report almost no DePauw graduates among their recent candidates for ministry.
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'Perhaps we should drop the pretense these schools are in any way United Methodist' |
There are no viable school-sponsored Christian groups on campus. The strongest Christian group, the "JC" group (with up to 300 in their weekly meetings), was organized by students who had to fight for any campus support or recognition. There are no United Methodist or Christian marks or symbols on campus. There is a chaplain, called Dean of the Chapel, but there is no chapel to be dean of. There is an "inter-faith" council so structured that Christian groups feel compromised to be a part of it.
Perhaps more telling is the policy that UM clergy (or any clergy) cannot teach religion or Bible courses (with one exception). So academic freedom is turned on its head.
In order to be non-sectarian and neutral the school restricts and denies clergy the opportunity to teach.
It is time to take a new look at our so-called "church-related" schools. Many have their own views of excellence which do not include Christian faith. Perhaps we should drop the pretense, for their sake and ours, that these schools are in any way United Methodist.
The Rev. Riley Case is a retired clergy member of the North Indiana Annual Conference.
Last updated on January 14, 2004