Christian groups at secular schools
Here are my latest questions concerning Christian fundamentalism:
Are Christian groups [IV, Campus Crusade] that form at secular colleges or universities inherently fundamentalist in nature? If not inherently fundamentalist, are students who join these groups generally more attracted to fundamentalism? Do they show signs of becoming fundamentalists after having joined said groups?
Are Christian groups [IV, Campus Crusade] that form at secular colleges or universities inherently fundamentalist in nature? If not inherently fundamentalist, are students who join these groups generally more attracted to fundamentalism? Do they show signs of becoming fundamentalists after having joined said groups?
posted by Heather at 1:08 PM
1 Comments:
My worry about these types of groups is that instead of allowing a safe environment for intellectual discussion and learning about faith, they become insular mutual admiration societies (ok, so what I mean is marriage markets). People don't ask questions to build faith, they worry about "self-esteem" and "living in the world," very practical concerns. An ideal Christian college offers the chance to ask tough questions and not be shamed out of the church for it (ideally this would happen in the church too, but that's a whole other discussion, Mark Noll anyone?). The extent to which this happens in Christian groups at secular universities is unclear to me. And as we know, if questions aren't allowed fundamentalism is a danger.
The people I've encountered in IV have been only a bit more conservative than me, but they're all grad students; they've been trained to think. I'm not sure what goes on in your average undergrad IV type thing.
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