Eruditio et Religio: A Comparative History of Religious Life on Four Campuses by Scott Muir Graduate Program in Religion Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Mark Chaves, Supervisor ___________________________ Yaakov Ariel ___________________________ Russell Richey ___________________________ Alyssa Rockenbach ___________________________ Grant Wacker Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate Program in Religion in the Graduate School of Duke University 2018 i v ABSTRACT Eruditio et Religio: A Comparative History of Religious Life at Four Distinct Colleges of the Research Triangle by Scott Muir Graduate Program in Religion Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Mark Chaves, Supervisor ___________________________ Yaakov Ariel ___________________________ Russell Richey ___________________________ Alyssa Rockenbach ___________________________ Grant Wacker An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate Program in Religion in the Graduate School of Duke University 2018 Copyright by Scott Muir 2018 Abstract This dissertation examines the relationship between religion and higher education in the United States through analyses of the religious histories of four distinct educational institutions in North Carolina’s Research Triangle—Duke University, Meredith College, North Carolina Central University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It places three seemingly contradictory scholarly representations of this relationship in conversation with one another. The first, represented by evangelical historians George Marsden and John Sommerville, claims that American higher education has come to be characterized by exclusive secularism. The second, represented by scholars of education, including Tricia Seifert, Lewis Schlosser, and Sherry Watt et al. claims by contrast that Christian privilege continues to obstruct the full inclusion of religious and non-religious minorities. And a third, represented by Rhonda and Jake Jacobsen, contends that historical Protestant and secularist predominance have been transcended by inclusive pluralism in the “postsecular” 21st century. This dissertation draws on archival research, participant observation, interviews, quantitative survey analysis, and secondary sources to demonstrate how Protestant, secular, and pluralist forces have coexisted and interacted throughout these four institutions’ histories. It illuminates how their campus religious climates have evolved in distinct ways through contingent interactions among these forces conditioned by a variety of institutional identity factors, including race, gender, iv affiliation, prestige, and geographical reach. As a result, we see that the relationship between religion and higher education is not uniformly characterized by either Christian privilege, exclusive secularism, or inclusive pluralism. Distinct institutional trajectories shape coexisting forms of privilege, secularism, and pluralism that interact in specific contexts, producing unique campus religious climates that shape undergraduate identity formation. v Dedication This dissertation is dedicated first and foremost to my wife Sarah who has suffered through this project with predictable grace and generous support. And to my daughter Eloise, who has helped me to “stay where my feet are” and relish the gift of each moment on this journey. I love you both madly. I would also like to dedicate this work to three family members of the “Greatest Generation,” my most intimate link to the past I represent here. First to the late William “Nonna” McCowen, my mother’s father, a lover of history who taught me to love the South as a Southerner, in spite of its warts. Secondly, to his beloved bride, Virginia “Gigi” McCowen, an alumna of a Methodist equivalent of Meredith College and pluralistic Protestant mystic of the purest order. And finally, to George Parkeson, their dear brother-in-law, who has served Duke University in the Medical School for 43 years, and continues to do so at the ripe age of 90—George welcomed me to Duke, Durham, the Research Triangle, and their rich overlapping histories as only a family history buff can. vi Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... x 1. Introduction: Illustrating the Contingent Interactions Among Protestant, Secular, and Pluralist Forces on Campuses Through Comparison of Four Distinct Case Studies .......... 1 1.1 Argument ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Literature Review: Three Seemingly Contradictory Representations of the Relationship Between Religion and Higher Education..................................................... 3 1.2.1 George Marsden’s and John Sommerville’s Critiques of Exclusive Secularism . 3 1.2.2 The Multifaceted Literature Promoting a New Paradigm Characterized by Religious Pluralism and Fluid Spirituality ....................................................................... 9 1.2.3 Critics of Persistent Christian/Religious Privilege ................................................ 15 1.3 Methodology ................................................................................................................... 24 1.4 Chapter Outline .............................................................................................................. 29 2. The Adhan Controversy in Historical Perspective: Interpenetrating Protestant, Secular, and Pluralist Forces at Duke University, 1839-2016 ................................................ 31 2.1 Introduction: The Adhan Controversy as Clash Between Protestant, Pluralist, and Secular Forces ........................................................................................................................ 31 2.2 Founding: A “Non-Sectarian” Denominational Identity Emerges Amidst Secular and Ecumenical Alternatives .............................................................................................. 36 2.3 Expansion: Protestant Establishments and Proto-Pluralism in a “Privatized Era” ................................................................................................................................................. 42 2.4 “Pluriformity,” Protestant Privilege, and Secularization: The Contest over a Diversified Campus Culture ............................................................................................... 55 2.5 Conclusion: The Adhan Dialogues as a Metaphor for the Relationship Between Religion and Higher Education .......................................................................................... 66 vii 3. A Puzzle of Paradoxes: Women’s Education and the Evangelical Mainline at Meredith College, 1900-2017 ....................................................................................................................... 70 3.1 Founding: Baptist Faith Inspires, Hampers, and Threatens Women’s Education 74 3.2 Challenging and Reinforcing the Gendered Boundaries of Southern Propriety and Baptist Piety ................................................................................................................... 83 3.3 The Evangelical Mainline at Midcentury: Progressive Social Engagement and Evangelical Witness ............................................................................................................. 89 3.4 Rupture: Meredith in the Crosshairs of a Baptist Battle Over Faith and Gender 102 3.5 Reorientation: Women’s Education and Institutional Mission in the “Pluriform Era” ....................................................................................................................................... 113 3.6 Conclusion: Gains and Losses .................................................................................... 127 4. Institutional Myths: Comparing Protestant, Pluralist, and Secular Structures at NCCU and UNC-CH, 1795-2017 .......................................................................................................... 130 4.1 The Protestant Establishment of Segregated Public Liberal Arts Education in North Carolina .................................................................................................................... 138 4.2 Midcentury Polarization: Preserving Protestant Cultures and Accommodating Secular Institutional Rules................................................................................................. 149 4.3 Protestant Privilege, Pluralism, and the Public University: Racial and Economic Disparities ............................................................................................................................ 171 4.4 Conclusion: The Complex, Vulnerable Nature of Religious Structures at Public Universities .......................................................................................................................... 194 5. Conclusion: Towards a Flexible, Interactive Account of Religion in Higher Education ....................................................................................................................................................