If we ‘unhook’ our Christian framework from the discussion of spirituality in the marketplace, we perpetuate the discouragement of “free intellectual inquiry” (Sirico, 2002, p.34), and, in so doing, offer nothing meaningful to academe. We become, in effect, theistic existentialists who say that although (for us) truth is rooted in God, it’s validity to the non-Christian academy is only “determined by its value to the individual,” not by its nature as divine reality. For the Christian scholar, this is intellectually dishonest.
Thus, when we talk only about values and not religious belief, we prevent the conversation from moving to the very place we imagine we are taking it. In contrast, we can talk plainly and honestly about our Christian faith while cultivating an atmosphere of honest intellectual freedom. This has happened in history and is needed again. Pointing to the effect that the Monastic movement and the Protestant Reformation had on human history, Peterson (2001) says that “Christianity can and will have a considerable impact on culture when it involves thinking at the most fundamental levels…Those who hope to see Christianity affect culture in America and elsewhere must work toward the development of a strong public (italics mine) Christian mind” (p. 206). We have no reason to be either afraid of talking “Christian” in the secular world nor of being antagonistic towards non-Christian scholars because our “intellect is an ally of genuine faith rather than a nemesis” (Peterson, 2001, p. 201).
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Fry, L.J. (2003). Toward a theory of spiritual leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 14, 693-727.
Peterson, M. (2001). With All Your Mind: A Christian Philosophy of Education. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame.
Sirico, R. (2002). The Soul of Liberty. Grand Rapids, MI: The Acton Institute.
