Christian Colleges Used to Be

Christian colleges used to be much more popular than they are now, and in recent years their popularity has gone down considerably. Whether this is a reflection on Christianity or society in general, however, is not really known, as there are many issues that could have caused this. In order to understand it properly, study and reading are both necessary. Books such as this one help to give insight into why a Christian College is or is not a good choice.

Naturally, the book author believes that a Christian college is the best choice in today's increasingly secular society, but there are pros and cons to any college environment. Christian colleges have many benefits, however, in that they are often seen to be more studious and are not branded as party schools, which is an unfortunate designation that a large number of secular schools have acquired yet today.

At a Christian college, a student does not have to feel that religion must be hidden or ignored as must be done at many of the secular colleges if one is to 'fit in' with the rest of the student body and be largely accepted by most individuals.

The importance of being accepted by others cannot be overstated for most individuals that are just getting into college, and because of this a person's religion can often be ignored, changed, or openly rebelled against because of peer pressure and the influence of other students.

A student that is enrolled in a Christian college, however, is secure in the knowledge that the religion that they believe in is part of who they are and what type of educational experience they are expected to have, and therefore they do not have to feel uncomfortable about expressing their religion to others and they do not have to think that they will be persecuted or judged because they have a specific point-of-view.

Despite this encouraging thought, though, there are other issues that could be a problem when choosing a Christian college, and it is important that they main one be discussed here. The most significant issue that could pose a problem for individuals that choose to attend a Christian college is the concern that, while all of the students are Christian, there are many different 'branches' of Christianity, and they do not all agree.

For example, Catholics and Protestants often disagree about some minor matters and a few more significant matters, and even within the Protestant area of Christianity there are many different 'sub-sets' that often view things very differently. Because of this, Christianity is a very multi-faceted religion and there can be differences and disagreements among many of its followers.

Going to a Christian college will eliminate being 'required' (at least by the student's perception) to hide his or her religion, but does not guarantee that the student will not be persecuted in some way for the beliefs that he or she has. In other words, a Protestant student may still not fit in with the Catholic students and a Lutheran student may not get along with those that.