The very first universities had a religious basis, with the
first three universities ever founded and still in existence being in the
Islamic tradition. Morocco, Egypt and
Iran each have a university whose origins go back to the years 859, 970 and
1065, respectively. Natural sciences and
religious studies did not conflict with one another at such schools.
The next
universities to be established outside the Middle East were the University of
Bologna (1088 in Italy) and the University of Paris (1096 in France). These later dates, however, are a bit
misleading. These institutions did not
just spring up without a context. The
University of Bologna arose as a centre of the study of law: church law as well
as Roman law [1]. Furthermore, the
places that become European universities in the 11th and 12th
centuries started out as cathedral-based schools. Here bishops had taken responsibility for
teaching the next generation of priests and church leaders from at least the 6th
century A.D. by teaching them the Bible
and doctrine but also literacy in Latin grammar. The University of Paris was anything but
secular when it first opened. It was
divided into four sections: Arts, Medicine, Law and Theology, but before
attaining a legal, medical or theological degree all students had to complete
the liberal arts course of study [2]. In
the same way, cathedral schools were also the precursor of Britain’s
prestigious Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
Turning to the “new
world,” Harvard was established in 1636 and the College of William and Mary
began in 1693, both while America still consisted of a collection of colonies. Harvard was founded by a group of Puritans
who had arrived in Massachusetts just sixteen
years earlier. They recognized the
importance of education for the future of the colony and its proper
development. The motto they chose was
“Veritas,” Latin for truth. Its first
benefactor, John Harvard, died one year after coming to the new world, but he
gave his complete library and half of his estate to the fledgling
institution. In gratitude, it was named
in his honour. The College of William
and Mary’s charter said it was to be a “perpetual College of Divinity,
Philosophy, Languages, and other good Arts and Sciences.” Thomas Jefferson attended this school about
70 years after its founding, and at that time all but one of the professors on
staff were clergymen. That small fact indicates that higher education and
Christian faith were not seen as incompatible during the years around American
Independence.
In New France (now
the largely French-speaking part of Canada) Jesuit priests accompanied settlers
and adventurers in the early 1600’s.
They established basic schools widely; within 50 years they also had a
central institution of higher education to prepare young men to the Jesuit
priesthood. Laval University proudly
traces its heritage back to 1663 but on its public site makes no mention of the
faith commitment of its first founders.
Montreal’s Concordia University, founded in 1848 as Loyola College, had
a similar origin. [3]
The oldest English
speaking university in Canada is located in the Maritimes: the University of
New Brunswick. It was founded in 1785,
about a decade after the American Revolution by British refugees, who did not
favor cutting ties with the Empire and thus moved northward. The initial goal of such a school was to give
youth a “virtuous education” in the following areas: Religion, Literature,
Loyalty and good Morals. It set out to offer enrolment to students regardless
of the particular church denomination they might belong to, but it was largely
run by Anglican-based leadership. [4]
Coming at last to
Ontario, Canada, there are now 19 public universities to which students can apply
via one centralized system. Of these, fourteen had a clear faith-based origin, as explained on the “history” section
of their websites. Two examples from the
nation’s capital would be appropriate even though they were founded 94 years
apart:
1)
University
of Ottawa started out in 1848 as the College of Bytown founded by a Roman
Catholic bishop. He handed over the control
of the school to the society of Mary Immaculate. In 1965 this religious institution was
renamed St. Paul’s University and the name University of Ottawa was given to
the liberal arts program. St. Paul’s
University continues to be affiliated with the University of Ottawa.
2)
Carleton University in Ottawa began in 1942 and
boasts being the first “non-denominational” university in Ontario. That does not mean it set itself up against
faith, but that it would not favour any particular Christian background. The YMCA of Ottawa was instrumental in
establishing this school at a time when “YMCA” meant more than a pool and
fitness club. Young Men’s Christian
Association (YMCA) was a community centre that engaged youth in integrating
faith in different aspects of life.
Universities as
institutions where young adults can learn specialized skills and take their
place in society are highly respected in the West. The pioneering effort of churches and
visionary church leaders cannot be underestimated. The funds raised to construct the first buildings
did not come from government grants but from grass roots people (some of whom
had wealth to share) who felt that moral and constructive learning for future generations
was important. Without that heritage
starting in Europe, would we really have these schools of excellence
today? While most Western universities have currently shifted their focus away from faith, they would not exist at all if we had a world with no vestiges of religion.
[1] Gerald L. Gutek A
History of the Western Educational Experience.
(1995), p. 100-101
[4] http://www.unb.ca/aboutunb/history/historicalsketch.html
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