Christian Higher Education: A Global Reconnaissance

by Joel Carpenter (Editor), Perry L. Glanzer (Editor), Nicholas S. Lantinga (Editor)

Overview

This book offers a fresh report and interpretation of what is happening at the intersection of two great contemporary movements: the rapid growth of higher education worldwide and the rise of world Christianity. It features on-site, evaluative studies by scholars from Africa, Asia, North America, and South America.

Christian Higher Education: A Global Reconnaissance visits some of the hotspots of Christian university development, such as South Korea, Kenya, and Nigeria, and compares what is happening there to places in Canada, the United States, and Europe, where Christian higher education has a longer history. Very little research until now has examined the scope and direction of Christian higher education throughout the world, so this volume fills a real gap.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802871053
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	03/07/2014
Pages:	346
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Joel Carpenter is professor of history and director of theNagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity at CalvinCollege.


Perry L. Glanzer is professor of educational foundations at Baylor University and a resident scholar with Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion.


Nicholas S. Lantinga is a professor at Handong Global University in South Korea and former director of the International Association for the Promotion of Christian Higher Education.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction: Christian Universities and the Global Expansion of Higher Education Joel Carpenter 1

1 Revolution in Higher Education in Nigeria: The Emergence of Private Universities Musa A. B. Gaiya 24

2 Development of Christian Higher Education in Kenya: An Overview Faith W. Nguru 43

3 Rise and Development of Christian Higher Education in China Peter Tze Ming Ng 68

4 Korean Christian Higher Education: History, Tasks, and Vision Kuk-Won Shin 90

5 Christian Higher Education in India: The Road We Tread J. Dinakarlal 111

6 Will the Parent Abandon the Child? The Birth, Secularization, and Survival of Christian Higher Education in Western Europe Perry L. Glanzer 134

7 Resurrecting Universities with Soul: Christian Higher Education in Post-Communist Europe Perry L. Glanzer 163

8 Christian Higher Education in Mexico José Ramón Alcántara Mejía 191

9 Christian Higher Education in Brazil and Its Challenges Alexandre Brasil Fonseca Cristiane Candida Santos 207

10 Quest for Identity and Place: Christian University Education in Canada Harry Fernhout 230

11 A Renaissance of Christian Higher Education in the United States George Marsden 257

Conclusion: Evaluating the Health of Christian Higher Education around the Globe Perry L. Glanzer Joel Carpenter 277

Select Bibliography 306

Contributors 318

Index 321

Editorial Reviews

Robert Benne
—Roanoke College
"What an incredible resource! This book does for our understanding of the worldwide resurgence of Christian higher education what North American scholars have been doing to understand the North American renaissance of the past several decades. It offers informative accounts of the expansion of Christian higher education — with all its challenges and opportunities — in major countries on nearly every continent. As a bonus, some of our best scholars in this field introduce and conclude the studies with illuminative assessments of the whole worldwide project."

Gerald Pillay
—Liverpool Hope University
"This insightful and richly textured collection of essays will bring much encouragement to those who have sought to keep alive both serious scholarship and living faith in higher education. . . . What an exhilarating global story unfolds through these pages!"

Mwenda Ntarangwi
—International Association for the Promotion of Christian Higher Education
"At a time when Christian universities and colleges especially in North America and Europe have been in decline, this volume provides a refreshing look at the expansion and ingenuity of Christian institutions around the world. . . . The contributors tell a story of hope, passion, and commitment. . . . Anyone interested in global Christian education will be well served by reading this book."

Philip G. Ryken
—Wheaton College
"Given the rapid numerical expansion and dynamic intellectual growth of new Christian universities outside North America, this is an exciting moment for Christ-centered higher education worldwide. . . . The mosaic of international perspectives in this wide-ranging volume demonstrates how much all of us can learn as every part of the higher education body of Christ shares its gifts and opportunities."

Young-Gil Kim
—Handong Global University
"This book shows what we at Handong Global University have long felt: God is at work renewing and inspiriting new institutions not only here in Korea but all over the world. Here we read of similar struggles and inspiring responses to God's call by our colleagues in Christian higher
education. Praise to the Lord as he continuously works in each and every campus throughout the world!"

Daniel C. Levy
—State University of New York at Albany
"This is a welcome addition to an interesting but rarely studied segment of higher education globally."

Books & Culture
"The editors recruited an exceptionally diverse group of contributors, several of whom have academic positions in non-Western universities. The volume accordingly does not re-tread familiar terrain but uses its contributors' on-the-ground knowledge to present a wealth of new information and analysis."

Christian Century
"The case studies in this book examine the upsurge of new institutions in the Global South and offer instructive comparisons with the older Christian world."

Intégrité
"Through its writing style, organized structure and continuity, as well as its comprehensive approach, this text offers readers a pioneer study of Christian higher education research within the robust field of international and comparative higher education. . . . An invaluable resource."

Christian Scholar's Review
"Would be a valuable resource for a faculty reading group, particularly an interdisciplinary one."
 

From the Publisher