Religion on Campus - by Conrad Cherry & Betty a DeBerg & Amanda Porterfield (Paperback)

About the Book

This study of religion on U.S. campuses today finds that both the practice and the study of religion are thriving, nourished by a campus atmosphere of diversity and tolerance. The book is based on interviews and participant observation at four schools: a Roman Catholic university in the East, a state university in the West, an African American university in the South, and a Lutheran liberal arts college in the North.

Book Synopsis

The first intensive, close-up investigation of the practice and teaching of religion at American colleges and universities, Religion on Campus is an indispensable resource for all who want to understand what religion really means to today's undergraduates.

To explore firsthand how college students understand, practice, and learn about religion, the authors visited four very different U.S. campuses: a Roman Catholic university in the East, a state university in the West, a historically black university in the South, and a Lutheran liberal arts college in the North. They interviewed students, faculty members, and administrators; attended classes; participated in worship services; observed prayer and Bible study groups; and surveyed the general ethos of each campus. The resulting study makes fascinating and important reading for anyone -- including students, parents, teachers, administrators, clergy, and scholars -- concerned with the future of young Americans.

Challenging theories of the secularization of higher education and the decline of religion on campus, this book reveals that both the practice and the study of religion are thriving, nourished by a campus culture of diversity, tolerance, and choice.

Review Quotes

A believable and compelling picture of religious life on campus. . . . A pleasure to read and a helpful introduction to people who care about student spirituality. ("Congregations")

A good introduction to American understanding of faith. (Alan Wolfe, "Chronicle of Higher Education")

A study of religious practice on American campuses that should give pause to anyone proposing that the secularization theory is airtight. ("Common Review")

Any church leader who questions the validity of a religious presence on college campuses should read this book. ("Christian Century")

This important study confirms the vitality of religion on campus while ably challenging widely held theories of secularization. ("Publishers Weekly")

"[The authors] are observant ethnographers, looking beyond the obvious places such as classroom and chapel to find religion at work in the locker room before the big game, in acts of community volunteerism or in the highly ritualized coronation of a homecoming queen."

About the Author

Conrad Cherry is Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies Emeritus at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and founder of the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture. Betty A. DeBerg is professor of religion and head of the department of philosophy and religion at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. Amanda Porterfield is Robert A. Spivey Professor of Religion at Florida State University in Tallahassee and past president of the American Society of Church History.