Having faith in college education is our future

The Oct. 29 edition of Time magazine features editorials and articles about the future of higher education in America. Managing Editor Richard Stengel sets the stage with his statement that “higher education is in large part the foundation of American exceptionalism, and we weaken it at our peril.”

While as a Christian I am not motivated by the golden calf called American exceptionalism, I believe our best collective future is strongly flavored with higher education. Darlene and I have put this to practice within our family. We never discussed with our children whether or not they would get a college education. We only talked about where. I have a collection of sweatshirts from the colleges and universities at which our kids and grandkids have received or are receiving their higher education. I wear them with great satisfaction (Dartmouth, Harvard, U. of Virginia, Georgetown, Bucknell, Notre Dame, Hamline, U. of Rochester, U. of Illinois, Dayton, Redlands, Whittier, U. of California at Irvine, UCLA, USC, Full Sail, Linfield and U. of Alaska Anchorage). We do not fear for the future of our children and grandchildren.

Stengel reminds us that while America was in the midst of the great war between the states, Abraham Lincoln signed into law the Morrill Act, which launched what has become the marvelous state university system that America has spread across the nation. Over the years, the leaders of state governments have caught the vision and states have developed good quality state universities and junior colleges that are offering college educations to whoever is motivated to work and study hard. The higher education system in America is envied by the world. Stengel is correct in insisting that our higher education system needs to become much larger, even better and affordable to the masses. Doing our best and being our best are honorable goals as individuals and as a nation.

The Time articles dwell on raising the quality of our universities, increasing the number of people pursuing higher education and making higher education affordable. I have an additional concern. Our colleges and universities should be heavily engaged in the defining of the morals and ethics by which we will live. If you go back and look at the list of colleges and universities at which our children and grandchildren have received their higher education, the majority of them were founded by churches. Congregationalists, Baptists, Catholics, Methodists and Quakers founded 10 of the schools listed.

The soul of the American nation is difficult to define. It is difficult to define because our founders intentionally founded a secular nation. At the same time they provided the framework in which the practice of religion would be freer than had ever been known in the world. We have ended up with the dichotomy of being a deeply religious secular nation. Our nation continues to have the moral and ethical roots of religion, but without a creed.

Stengel argues that higher education is a major part of the foundation of American exceptionalism. I would argue that the system of American colleges and universities founded by religious people is a major contributor to the soul of America.

One Time magazine article addresses the growth of online classes. They are proving to be effective tools for the mastering of some subjects. The Time articles put a big question mark on the future impact of technology-driven higher education. It seems obvious that online education will be a major factor in the education of America. I offer yet another perspective. Whether offered by traditional universities, by entrepreneural professors or by for-profit universities, online classes, I do not believe, can make a significant contribution to the elusive soul of America. That will remain the special task of church-initiated, value-based colleges and universities.

The variety of faith-based colleges and universities in America is very broad. American Catholic colleges and universities offer education of the highest caliber. From St. Mary’s, to Loyola of Los Angeles, to Gonzaga, to Notre Dame, to Boston College, Georgetown and dozens of Catholic institutions in between, Catholic schools are turning out tens of thousands of highly educated persons with a special regard for faith and tradition. But Catholic schools are only the beginning of the story. Value-based colleges rooted in religion dot the American landscape. They number in the hundreds and produce thousands of teachers, social workers, attorneys, ministers, artists, musicians, actors, sociologists and historians. Even though many of these special schools have strong math and science departments, the typical graduate of these special schools is not headed for a career in Silicon Valley.

These special schools keep the soul of America alive and lively.

The Time articles neglect the role and impact of religion- and value-based higher education. I choose to celebrate its special role. Thank you, Baylor, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Princeton, Notre Dame, Wheaton, Northwest Nazarene, Anderson, Texas Christian, Whittier, Redlands, Liberty, Oral Roberts, Pepperdine, Earlham, Pacific Lutheran, Biola, Augustana, Sterling, Whitworth, Illinois Wesleyan, Judson and hundreds of other American colleges and universities that keep God and humanitarian values before us. The soul and the good of America continue to rely on you.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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