Seeing the Light: Religious Colleges in Twenty-First Century America (review)

Historians trace the evolution of higher education in the United States to denominational colleges from the early years of the colonial era. Even though the overall percentage of religious institutions is smaller today than in prior centuries, this sector remains a viable part of the higher education landscape in America. According to national data, approximately one in five postsecondary institutions identifies with a religious group (Snyder & Dillow, 2010).

In Seeing the Light, Samuel Schuman attempts to explore the identities and contributions of religious institutions because they "merit thoughtful, serious, and respectful study, and there is much that the larger world of twenty-first century American higher education can learn from them" (p. 6). We have seen a resurgence of national interest in religion and spirituality in higher education, and denominational institutions have been more responsive to students' needs in these areas than their secular counterparts. However, religious institutions tend to attract misinformed criticisms; therefore, the author aims to paint "a balanced and objective picture of the contemporary status of religious colleges" (p. 37).

The author organizes Seeing the Light into five major parts. In Part 1 (Chapters 1–3), Schuman explains why and how to approach the study of religious higher education. He provides an overview of the historical context from which religious institutions emerged. In Chapter 2, Schuman describes the denominational contexts of several religious colleges representing non-Protestant viewpoints: Naropa University (Buddhist), Maharishi University (Hindu), Yeshiva University (Jewish), and Brigham Young University (Latter-day Saints).

The author then describes Roman Catholic higher education in Chapter 3 by exploring life at Villanova University, the College of New Rochelle, and Thomas Aquinas College.

While he is interested in addressing faithbased institutions in general, Schuman goes into significant detail regarding evangelical Protestant higher education. To that end, he selected 10 "intrinsically interesting and broadly representative" (p. 2) Christian colleges and universities for case study analyses and grouped them into three categories. Part 2 covers two chapters dealing with Baylor University and Anderson University, both Baptist institutions.

In Part 3 (Chapters 6–8), Schuman describes his visits to New Saint Andrews College, Calvin College, and North Park University. These three institutions represent religious colleges that "remain deeply tied to their founding Protestant denominations" (p. 103).

The nondenominational evangelical colleges are discussed in Part 4 (Chapters 9–13). Schuman describes George Fox University, Westmont College, Oral Roberts University, Northwestern College (Minnesota), and Wheaton College (Illinois) as institutions that portray the "dominant model of contemporary American religious collegiate education" (p. 2).

Part 5 concludes Schuman's research. In Chapter 14, he summarizes what we have learned and what we can learn about America's religious colleges. He underscores the significant variety of institutional characteristics among these institutions such as enrollment size and Carnegie type. Further, these institutions vary in "the extent to which they focus internally and externally" (p. 216). They differ in how they view themselves within their respective denominations (internally) and how they interact with the world around them (externally). Evangelical Protestant colleges rely on the truth of the Bible, yet there are differences in interpretation and application of scripture, illustrated by different viewpoints on human origins.

Second, religious postsecondary institutions have self-awareness on an individual and collective level. Schuman notes, however, that religious institutions either express a triumphalistic tone that their pursuit of truth is superior, or they develop a siege mentality, presenting themselves as a "persecuted minority within contemporary society" (p. 224).

Another lesson we can learn from these institutions pertains to their protective environment. Christian colleges expect theological agreement from students and faculty, and require certain behavioral conformity, thus communicating to parents the idea of a safe haven where their children can attend college.

Finally, Schuman cites national data from the Student Satisfaction Inventory and National Survey of Student Engagement to demonstrate satisfaction and student engagement trends comparing the student experiences at religious and secular institutions.

As an extra resource, the author presents...