First and foremost, Naomi Schaefer Riley’s God on the Quad is an amalgam of the author’s experiences from visiting over twenty of the nation’s more religious undergraduate, professional and graduate schools. From those visits and her experience as a journalist in higher education, Riley posits that graduates of religious institutions, hereafter referred to as the “missionary generation,” seek “to enhance the ethical core of American life, combating the tendencies toward individualism and materialism…” The resulting book is a thoroughly entertaining read. Most Americans, religious or otherwise, have heard of Notre Dame and Brigham Young, but few are given the opportunity to attend or visit in person. As a graduate of the secular Harvard University, Riley provides us with an outsider’s view of some of America’s most mythologized institutions.
That said, the foundation of Riley’s overall thesis is somewhat speculative in nature. While the rapid growth of religious colleges and universities is a documented phenomenon, its exact cause and eventual effects remain anybody’s guess. From time-to-time, the author cites polls or studies that tend to support her view of the “missionary generation” and its growing affect on modern society, but ultimately, she draws her own conclusions from a small and fairly random sample of academics.
Riley freely admits that her choice to examine Regent University and Thomas Aquinas College instead of say, my alma mater, Belmont Abbey, was not scientific. Indeed, judging by the dissimilar nature of the schools she visited, I am inclined to believe that Riley was principally concerned with finding intriguingly distinct universities, rather than ones which share a common religious baseline. Frankly put, I feel that grouping Catholic, Evangelical, Fundamentalist and Jewish schools with Mormon and Buddhist programs of varying size, prestige and religiosity amounts to an artificial categorization.
Furthermore, while Riley’s chapter-long summaries of life at Bob Jones or Yeshiva University are engaging to say the least, they are based on brief visits. During her January 25 talk at the Heritage Foundation’s Allison Auditorium in Washington, D.C., Riley confessed that her longest stay at any given school was one week, with most visits lasting four to seven days.
God on the Quad is best described as a series of snapshots. The author’s approach gives us frank, but fleeting glances at campus life. Typically, Riley interviews student government presidents and transfer students from secular colleges; we get a feel for the political milieu on campus and how the religious and secular compare in the minds of students. She also highlights scholars who hold faiths that differ from the religion sponsored by their institution, i.e., Jews at a Mormon school or vice versa. In some cases, religious minorities seem comfortable with their classmates. For instance, at the predominantly Baptist Baylor University, Riley reports how large numbers of Catholic students and professors peacefully interrelate with their Evangelical peers. Alternatively, some schools refuse to give tenure to professors of another faith, or even hire them in the first place. Patrick Henry College requires “[e]ach Trustee, officer, faculty member and student” to sign their Christian “Statement of Faith” before joining the campus community.
Another common theme throughout God on the Quad is the impending future of the “missionary generation.” Contrary to stereotypes, the author found that wannabe priests, reverends and rabbis are in the minority at most religious schools. According to Riley, the “missionary generation” plans to proselytize through morality in the workplace, as well as through entering the religious life. In one memorable interview, the author discovers that even Bob Jones University has a few students who aren’t considering a missionary career. While discussing her future with Riley, sophomore Janice Martin confesses that her dream is to attend Duke Law School and go into politics.
Additionally, Riley tries to debunk the myth of the intellectually backward religious scholar. She emphasizes the growing academic rigor of Evangelical schools and points us to the all-famous Notre Dame. However, more than just outlining a growing parity with secular colleges, Riley argues that deep-rooted religious fervor gives future professionals of the “missionary generation” a sense of vocation that sets them apart. In a post-Enron world where ethics suddenly matter, religious graduates represent a valuable commodity. Using Ave Maria School of Law as her case in point, the author describes how students are taught from the Catholic perspective and learn to seek justice over legalistic victories.
All things considered, God on the Quad is an enjoyable expedition into the halls and classrooms of America’s religious institutions of higher learning. Although Riley takes us to somewhat random and dissimilar schools, her general proposition that faith-based education can provide a sense of purpose and morality is clearly valid. My verdict on Riley’s literary debut: though far from scientific, her book provides a useful theoretical framework to consider the rise and future of religious education. This critic found it worth the read.
