Searching for the Soul of English Universities: An Exploration and Analysis of Christian Higher Education in England

Although church-related universities in England gradually became more secular throughout the twentieth century, a group of nine teacher education colleges with church foundations have recently developed into full fledged universities. This article draws upon documentary and site-based research to evaluate the relevance of the Christian identity for these institutions in light of recent scholarship on the subject. Keywords: church foundation universities Christian 5. Acknowledgment I would like to thank the National Institute of Christian Education Research for the funding that made this research possible. Notes 1 Some of the recent works on U.S. Christian higher education include: CitationBenne, 2001; CitationBurtchaell, 1998; CitationDovre, 2002; CitationGleason, 1995; CitationHughes and Adrian, 1997; CitationMarsden, 1994; CitationRingenberg, 2006; CitationSterk, 2002. In contrast, no scholarly book on Christian higher education in England exists, although one can find chapters or partial treatments ( CitationArthur, 2006; CitationBebbington, 1992; CitationD'Costa, 2005; CitationGoodlad, 2002). 2 The paper will focus on the English context and not on the United Kingdom as a whole, since regions such as Scotland and Ireland have their own particular history owing to the different religious establishments and histories. 3 Liverpool Hope University, Roehampton University, University of Chester, University of Chichester, University of Gloucestershire, University of Winchester and York St. John University. 4 To protect the identity of the interviewees, I do not identity them by name or institution. All interviews were conducted at the English universities in November 2007.