No Longer Invisible: Religion in University Education

Drawing on interviews with hundreds of university professors, co-curricular educators, administrators, and students from public and private colleges and universities across the United States, Douglas and Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen demonstrate that religion is central to the work of higher education in the twenty-first century. Religion Matters begins with an examination of the history of religion in American society and higher education, from Protestant establishment to secular dominance to the much more complex and pluralistic dynamics of the culture today. The authors define religion carefully, identifying three different modes of faith: historic religion, public religion, and personal religion. The second half of the volume explores six educational topics where religion intersects with the core goals and purposes of college/university education: religious literacy, interfaith etiquette, framing knowledge, civic engagement, convictions, and character and vocation. The authors pose key questions: What should an educated person know about the world's religions? What does it mean to interact appropriately with members of other faiths? What assumptions and rationalities, secular or religious, shape the way we think? What values and practices, secular or religious, guide civic engagement? How do personal beliefs interact with the teaching and learning process? How might colleges and universities point students toward lives of purpose and meaning? This volume shows that by paying careful and nuanced attention to the role of religion, educators can enhance intellectual life in any college or university.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Religion within Higher Education Part I: Context 1. Religion's ''Return'' 2. The History of Religion in American Higher Education 3. Trail Markers in a Time of Transition 4. A Framework for Better Questions Part II: Content 5. Religious Literacy 6. Interfaith Etiquette 7. Framing Knowledge 8. Civic Engagement 9. Convictions 10. Character and Vocation Conclusion: Religion and the Future of Higher Education Acknowledgements

About the Author :
Douglas "Jake" Jacobsen (Ph.D., University of Chicago), Professor of Religion, and Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen (Ed.D., Temple University), Professor of Psychology, jointly direct the Religion in the Academy Project. Their previous publications include Scholarship and Christian Faith: Enlarging the Conversation (OUP, 2004) and the award-winning edited volume The American University in a Postsecular Age (OUP, 2008).

Review :
"..a highly nuanced, superb study of exceptional lucidity and concision, a great resource for all educators interested in questions about religion in the public sphere, in different learning communities, and in individual lives."--Journal of Beliefs & Values: Studies in Religion & Education "Douglas and Rhonda Jacobsen do not expect all their readers to be convinced . . . but they have laid out a playing field in which the serious games of 'religion' and 'university' intersect or are fought." --Journal of the American Academy of Religion "[The Jacobsens'] model allows even public colleges and universities to understand how religious questions can impact teaching and scholarship." -- Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion "The authors make a convincing argument that religion is both educationally unavoidable and pedagogically transformative . . . educating the whole student means being willing to take all perspectives - even religious perspectives - seriously, from classrooms to student affairs to administrative offices." --Teaching Theology and Religion "The authors provide a much-needed source for understanding how religion connects with higher learning and how to capitalize on, rather than ignore, such connections." --Religious Studies Review "The volume is a helpful guide for educators wishing to understand the evolution of religion in higher education, and challenges readers to understand the multifaceted dimensions of religion in individual, community, and university life." --Journal of College and Character "Alas, the title lacks soul. But the book does not, and readers will be rewarded for their effort if they read this well-written and inviting volume." --Journal of Education and Christian Belief "This volume is a wise, sophisticated, eminently readable, and profoundly important contribution to the literature of higher education in America. The Jacobsens eloquently and persuasively shatter the wall that has too often precluded the serious examination of how intimately religion and higher education interact. Religion is already an active agent in higher education, in the lives of teachers and students, as well as in the world that higher education is designed to explain and serve. This book informs, challenges and inspires its readers as it weakens the facile distinctions between religious and secular thought."--Lee S. Shulman, President Emeritus, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching "An intelligent introduction to perhaps the most confused and contested issue on university campuses today-religion. By mapping key features of the contemporary discourse about religion and spirituality in higher education onto sturdy analytical categories from the academic study of religion, No Longer Invisible significantly advances an important conversation. If you are looking to understand religion on your campus-or wondering why you should bother to-read this book."--Patricia O'Connell Killen, Ph.D., Academic Vice President and Professor of Religious Studies, Gonzaga University "No Longer Invisible is a hugely valuable book and a highly enjoyable read. Religion is a powerful force in our public square and in our students' lives. How campuses engage this force will help determine what role faith plays in our future - a bridge of cooperation or a barrier of division, a source of inspiration, or an excuse for destruction. This book is a great resource for anyone who wants to work proactively to incorporate religion into higher education." --Dr. Eboo Patel, Founder and President, Interfaith Youth Core