Press Release

CONTACT: Debra Humphreys
(202) 387-3760
e-mail: dh@aacu.org

Journal on Liberal Education Features New Research about Religion on Campus

Washington, DC—April 5, 2002—In the wake of September 11th, college students, like many Americans, have asked probing questions about the role of religion in public life and world affairs. Recent events have also caused many Americans to examine their own religious beliefs and their understandings of religious faith in a democratic society and in pluralist communities like college campuses. How do college students view these questions? What is the current state of religion on college campuses? The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) recently released a new issue of its award-winning journal, Liberal Education that sheds light on these issues and, as the editor, Bridget Puzon, puts it, "delineates a timely portrait of religion on campus."

In its Fall, 2001 issue, Liberal Education reports on a new qualitative study of religion on campus that challenges prevailing assumptions about student interest in the practices, attitudes, and study of religion. This study, conducted by Conrad Cherry, Betty A. De Berg, and Amanda Porterfield, examines such questions as how much and in what ways American undergraduate students practice religion during their college and university years. It also looks at the manner in which students understand and talk about their religious beliefs and the approaches to the study of religion currently available on college campuses.

This issue of Liberal Education also includes articles examining such issues as the future of religious colleges, the current state of Jewish Studies in the academy, and another research study of religiously affiliated colleges by Paul Dovre. Kathleen A. Mahoney, John Schmalzbauer, and James Youniss also chart a significant comeback for religion on campus during the last decade of the twentieth century in their study, and Robert Kiely gives an account of religious pluralism at Harvard University.

Recent events clearly indicate the need for all Americans to understand better the role of religion in history and contemporary life. As AAC&U president, Carol Geary Schneider, puts it, "Most Americans never have any occasion to actually study the principles and practices that undergird pluralist democracies, much less to evaluate them critically against alternative conceptions of the way society should be organized. In the new world after September 11, the danger of that vacuum needs to be confronted. And in this emerging agenda, a renewed engagement with religious traditions and worldviews will surely be central for many years to come." This issue of Liberal Education provides valuable information about the climate in which college students and faculty will confront these critical challenges as the academy prepares tomorrow's leaders for an uncertain future.

To obtain subscription information or to order single issues of Liberal Education, call 202/387-3760 or e-mail pub_desk@aacu.nw.dc.us.

AAC&U is the leading national association devoted to advancing and strengthening liberal learning for all students, regardless of academic specialization or intended career. Since its founding in 1915, AAC&U's membership has grown to more than 750 accredited public and private colleges and universities of every type and size.AAC&U functions as a catalyst and facilitator, forging links among presidents, administrators, and faculty members who are engaged in institutional and curricular planning. Its mission is to reinforce the collective commitment to liberal education at both the national and local levels and to help individual institutions keep the quality of student learning at the core of their work as they evolve to meet new economic and social challenges.

Information about AAC&U membership, programs and publications can be found at www.aacu.org.

Revised April 9, 2002