Faith on the Quad--Scholars want to expand religious studies

Scholars issue draft "declaration" calling for expanded role of religion in curriculum and student life -- at religious and secular colleges.

"To live in America is to live in a religiously charged atmosphere,” and that includes colleges — whether they like it or not. With those words, William M. Sullivan, a senior scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, summed up why 25 scholars — from a range of disciplines and faiths — have been working on a new statement about the role of religion on campuses. The Wingspread Declaration on Religion and Public Life: Engaging Higher Education is still only a draft. But the document, which comes out of discussions that started during the 2004 elections, was presented — and at times the subject of intense discussion — at the annual meeting of the Association of American Colleges and Universities on Thursday.