Pluralism and Particularism: Friends or Foes?

Abstract

A major challenge facing Christian higher education is how to interact with a pluralistic society. This challenge is encountered in many venues such as community involvement, accountability to churches at large, and the various activities within a particular school (college or university) itself as it conducts business, including teaching. A recent article notes that Christian higher education is becoming increasingly secularized. One response to this development is the desire by some to reverse this trend and return Christian colleges to their roots (Hamilton, 2005). The issue is not cut and dried, for is a school simply to be the “defender of the faith” or is it to be a place where one and all can engage many ideas and disciplines with freedom of thought? Or both? This challenge is faced by many Christians serving in higher education and becomes especially acute in a Christian school promoting a liberal arts education.