This book argues against the conventional idea that Protestantism effectively ceased to play an important role in American higher education around the end of the nineteenth century. Choosing Princeton as an example, P. C. Kemeny shows that Protestantism was not abandoned but rather modified to conform to the educational values and intellectual standards of the modern university. Drawing upon a wealth of neglected primary sources, such as correspondence, diaries, lecture notes, and publications and papers of presidents, professors, students, and trustees, the author sheds new light upon the role of religion in higher education. He examines what was happening both inside and outside the classroom and shows that religious and secular commitments were not neatly divisible but rather commingled, and that they were often combined in ways that educators in the early twentieth century believed would serve both the educational interests of the nation and their Protestant mission to help usher in the Kingdom of God in America."--Résumé de l'éditeur
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 315-345) and index
