A nationwide call for increased integration of religion into higher education will not be reflected in the curriculum anytime soon, University officials say.
The Association of American Colleges and Universities, of which Penn is a member, discussed a proposal known as the "Wingspread Declaration on Religion and Public Life: Engaging Higher Education" Jan. 26 at its annual meeting.
The proposal was made by the Society for Values in Higher Education, a group of educators that seeks to promote values such as integrity and diversity on campus, according to its Web site.
The University was not represented at that meeting, Kent Peterman, College of Arts and Sciences director of academic affairs, said.
The declaration's objectives include integrating the study of religion into all academic fields, assisting students who wish to integrate intellectual and spiritual growth and promoting respect and tolerance in discussions of religious views. It doesn't promote any specific religious views or belief in religion.
College Dean Dennis DeTurck noted that many classes in diverse subject areas -- including the math classes he teaches -- already discuss religion. He added that the curriculum is crowded enough without new requirements and that this makes the declaration, which asks schools to alter their curricula to promote religious literacy, "simultaneously naive and presumptuous."
"I have a visceral reaction to blank anything across the curriculum," DeTurck said. "Everyone wants a piece of the curriculum."
Peterman said that it would be difficult to apply the proposed "one-size-fits-all" curriculum to all colleges and universities. He added that students learn about religious diversity and tolerance from each other rather than from formal instruction.
"That sounds like Sunday school," he said. "The whole experience of colleges is we help sort of point in that direction."
History professor Alan Kors called the declaration "a very confused piece" while at the same time recognizing the importance of the topic at hand.
Kors said that the document's appeal for universities to be more welcoming to religion represents a crucial issue in higher education. He added that schools don't treat student religious associations as equal to political and cultural organizations, citing the Student Activities Council's exclusion of religious groups from funding.
This sentiment extends to hiring and promotion, where there is a bias against faculty with traditional religious views, Kors said.
"There is an extraordinary hostility to religious life on too many American campuses ... in the sense that universities often either don't welcome it or indeed outright discourage it," he said.
