Christianity and Moral Identity in Higher Education

278 Pages·2009·1.679 MB·English

by  Perry L. Glanzer, Todd C. Ream (auth.)

Christianity and Moral Identity in Higher Education
Previous Publications
Perry L. Glanzer
Christian Faith and Scholarship: An Exploration of Contemporary
Developments (2007)
Readings in American Educational Thought: From Puritanism to
Progressivism (Ed. 2004)
The Quest for Russia’s Soul: Evangelicals and Moral Education in Post-
Communist Russia (2002)
Todd C. Ream
Christian Faith and Scholarship: An Exploration of Contemporary Debates
(2007)
Christianity and Moral Identity
in Higher Education
Perry L. Glanzer
and
Todd C. Ream
CHRISTIANITY AND MORAL IDENTITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Copyright © Perry L. Glanzer and Todd C. Ream, 2009.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2009 978-0-230-61240-2
All rights reserved.
First published in 2009 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-37728-2 ISBN 978-0-230-10149-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230101494
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Glanzer, Perry L. (Perry Lynn)
Christianity and moral identity in higher education / Perry L.
Glanzer and Todd C. Ream.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Education, Higher—Moral and ethical aspects. 2. Moral education
(Higher) 3. Education, Higher—Religious aspects—Christianity.
I. Ream, Todd C. II. Title.
LB2324.G53 2009
378'.014—dc22 2009023757
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: December 2009
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Rhonda and Sara
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: The Turn to Less than Human Moral
Education: The Moral Reservations of
Contemporary Universities 1
Part I The Story of Moral Education in
Higher Education
One: L ove in the University: Moral Development
and Moral Orientation 11
Two: S earching for a Common, Tradition-Free
Approach to Moral Education: The Failed Quest 31
Three: The Rise of Less than Human Moral Education 57
Four: The Quandary Facing Contemporary
Higher Education: Moral Education in
Postmodern Universities 75
Part II A More Human Education: Moral
Identity and Moral Orientation
Five: Who Are We? The Identities Universities Use
To Provide Moral Orientation 97
Six: Searching for a More Human Moral
Education: Three Approaches 113
Seven: M oral Education in the Christian
Tradition: Contemporary Exemplars 131
Eight: Moral Identity, Moral Autonomy, and
Critical Thinking 159
viii Contents
Part III Strengthening the Moral Tradition of
Christian Humanism
Nine: Christian Humanism and Christ-Centered
Education: The Redemptive Development of
Humans and Human Creations 181
Ten: A More Human Christian Education: Cultivating
and Ordering the Great Identities 201
Conclusion: Transforming Human Animals into Saints 221
Notes 225
Select Bibliography 259
Index 271
Acknowledgments
The older we have become, the more we realize that any labor, partic-
ularly labors of love, are far more communal endeavors than individ-
ual. Ideas do not merely come to us in isolation but through the
relationships we are fortunate enough to share with others. As a
result, any list of acknowledgements will prove to be insufficient.
Persons in our past and present have helped shape our passion for see-
ing how colleges and universities can fulfill their rightful duties as
instruments of character formation. We have encountered some of
these persons through more theoretical work. They made their pres-
ence known to us through their words both spoken and in print. To
this end, we are deeply indebted to figures past and present such as
Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Alasdair MacIntyre, Stanley Hauerwas,
and Charles Taylor. We have encountered some of these persons
through more practical work. They made their presence know to us
through administrative decisions that needed to be made. Although
confidentiality demands that we must protect their anonymity, we
think of students we have driven to rehabilitation centers, sat with in
court and even suspended hoping and praying that they would decide
to return to campus with the virtues more firmly pressed upon their
hearts and minds.
The communities of Baylor University and Indiana Wesleyan
University provided us with places to live out our commitments to the
academic vocation. This project started several years ago with a
Horizons Grant offered by the Baylor’s Institute for Faith and
Learning. Both Baylor University and Indiana Wesleyan University
were also generous in their subsequent provision of additional travel
funds and summer sabbaticals. For the gracious support we received
from both universities, we thank Jade Avelis, Michael D. Beaty,
Ronnie L. Fritz, Douglas V. Henry, David Lyle Jeffrey, Jerry Pattengale,
and Alleta Tippey. We would also thank The Louisville Institute and
its Executive Director, James W. Lewis, for providing us with the
funding needed to expand the breadth and depth of this effort. Finally,
we would like to thank the research assistants we have had the plea-
sure to work with over the course of the last couple of years, Brian C.
Clark, Edith Davis, Konstantin Petrenko, and Pedro Villarreal. This