Editor’s note: This is part of a Deseret Magazine series examining the question: What happened to the promise of college?
From Billy Joel to Bon Jovi, songwriters in different genres often refer to the importance of “keeping the faith.” In Christian higher education, this has been a central concept long before those songs hit the airwaves. Infusing faith everywhere, from the curriculum to the chapel to codes of conduct, introduces students to a robust Christian worldview and faithful ways of being. Now, more than ever, faith intertwined with higher education is necessary for a hopeful future. As a new generation prepares for a tumultuous world, a faithful education equips students to serve others guided by biblical principles and reminds us that faith is something not only to keep, but to cherish.
In a cynical world, the concept of faith is often labeled as subjective. Faith is perceived as a floating, abstract idea, an afterthought to the tangible. In education, the discussion of economic value eclipses all else. Professional skills easily take precedence over the deeper aspects of learning which can be harder to quantify — knowledge, wisdom, discernment, a sense of vocation and spiritual formation, as a few examples. In Christian higher education, the central question is not how we incorporate faith into high-performing programs and skills-based curriculum. While those metrics matter, our starting point is a deeper question: How do we integrate education into faith?
Christian higher education is dedicated to that spiritual investment. Modern higher education focuses on skills needed for a profession, while Christ-centered colleges and universities transcend to something much deeper. At institutions in the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, students are preparing for roles in life that may not yet exist. Unlike secular schools that focus primarily on job-specific professional training within each major, our Christian universities encourage students to pursue both their studies and life through the lens of a Christian worldview. Whether a student changes their job or sticks with the same organization for decades, they approach life, and all its challenges, joys and accomplishments, with a biblical worldview. Spiritual formation leads to moral clarity, which allows students to make mission-driven life choices, both personal and professional.
We have to have a more accurate representation of what the relationship between education and religion looks like in this country, because it is not what people think it is.
At Wesleyan institutions, for example, the Wesleyan quadrilateral is embraced throughout every program. The quadrilateral emphasizes a guided approach beginning with scripture, applying reason, tradition and experience. Roberts Wesleyan University in Rochester, New York, known as “New York’s Leading University for Character Education,” launched the Golisano Community Engagement Center in 2023. Here, students and the Rochester community come together in fellowship, gathering in shared spaces while also working on projects that contribute to the overall good of the community. As stated on the Roberts Wesleyan website, “The Community Institutes provide community-focused educational solutions and resources to area businesses and organizations seeking real-world learning experiences, insight and transformational partnerships both locally and abroad.”
Approaching education with a faithful perspective is rooted in American higher education. The CCCU often refers to those traditions when addressing cynicism or countering a negative perception of Christian education. My CCCU predecessor, Shirley Hoogstra, stated that, “Christian higher education, done well, is the antidote to culture decay.”
Religion is central to human flourishing. At the ACE Commission on Faith-Based Colleges and Universities (FBCUs), Eastern Illinois political science associate professor Ryan P. Burge detailed various higher education studies, addressing the general public’s perception of religion in his presentation, “Religion and Human Flourishing. What the Data Says.” As Burge stated in ACE’s summary of the event, “We have to have a more accurate representation of what the relationship between education and religion looks like in this country, because it is not what people think it is.”
Burge cited numerous studies, including Pew Research and the Springtide Survey of Young People and Religious Life, which consistently demonstrate that religious individuals, such as those who regularly attend church services, consistently report higher levels of happiness and lower levels of depression, anxiety and loneliness in their lives. To those of us who are believers, it should come as no surprise that faith is the key to flourishing.
CCCU member institutions advance flourishing in society when they exemplify the courage to remain committed to the biblical tradition. In a webinar hosted by the Heterodox Academy, Art Carden, professor of economics at Samford University, states that “the way a lot of us at Samford (approach the classroom) is on the conviction that what we’re doing at Samford is discovering the principles governing the kind of world God created, whether that’s in the biology department or the physics department or the math department or the economics department. Johannes Kepler was alleged to have said he was just thinking God’s thoughts after Him — that is a lot of what we are doing.”
But is it enough? In an impatient world filled with instant answers, how do we as Christian educators remind the world to “rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12), while addressing demands and responding to current societal pressures?
CCCU member institutions are finding innovative ways to integrate faith and learning that reinforce that faithful commitment. At Oklahoma Baptist University, an upcoming cybersecurity lab offers students hands-on experience executing and defending against cybersecurity attacks. Throughout their work in the lab and in the traditional classroom, OBU students access “a distinctive blend of applied computer science, liberal arts education and ethical training grounded in faith,” to quote the university’s press release. OBU cybersecurity students gain academic learning and skills-based training, while also engaging with ethical formation shaped by Christian faith and morality — preparing them for impactful careers and meaning-filled lives shaped by faith-guided wisdom and discernment.
This approach to education, combining both knowledge and wisdom, is more important than ever today in the age of generative AI. As Tyler M. Rosas wrote in a March 2025 article for Christian Scholar’s Review, “Knowledge alone isn’t enough. Consider the difference between knowing about God and knowing God Himself. One is information; the other is transformation. This same principle applies across every field of study at a Christian college.” Faith-based institutions dig deeper than knowledge transmission and skill development — they challenge students’ minds, yes, but they also know the importance of shaping hearts and souls.
Christian colleges and universities accomplish this formative work through subjects often considered secular, but they are also equipped to offer unique programs inherently shaped by the Christian tradition. At Baylor University, the Great Texts program invites students to study “foundational works of literature, theology and philosophy,” spanning from the literary tradition of the ancient world (including the Bible itself alongside Homer, Virgil, Confucius and more) to the 20th century (where the reading list is replete with recognizable names such as Sigmund Freud, C.S. Lewis, Ernest Hemingway and Toni Morrison). Students studying Great Texts engage in in-depth analysis and writing alongside “formation in practical wisdom” shaped by the Christian faith. They graduate prepared for diverse future career paths, from the law to ministry, and with a mature Christian worldview, having deeply considered enduring questions of morality, justice, grace and truth.
Now, more than ever, faith intertwined with higher education is necessary for a hopeful future.
Many CCCU member institutions also invite students to step outside themselves, developing their moral character and biblical worldview in service of others. As one example, Palm Beach Atlantic University’s Workship community service program combines the words “work” and “worship” to model for students how to respond to the world’s needs with Christlike love. Through Workship, PBAU students engage in a wide range of service activities: tutoring K–12 students in their local community, packaging meals for those in need, supporting hurricane relief, and more. To date, PBAU students have volunteered more than 4 million hours through Workship, serving as the hands and feet of Jesus as they develop into lifelong servant leaders.
As we can see, faith-integrated formation transcends the classroom. From chapel to athletics to residence halls, Christian colleges and universities provide opportunities for meaningful student development. Calvin University, for example, offers undergraduate students with Christian formation in the form of a unique residence option: Koinonia House, named after the Greek term for Christian unity and fellowship.
The residents of Koinonia House commit to spend time in community, with weekly house meals, regular Bible study and prayer, and one retreat per semester. At the same time, they commit to service, including specific household responsibilities and 20 hours of community service each semester. While living in Koinonia House, students engage in intentional reflection on faith, justice and community living, developing a deeper sense of what it means to live morally in community with one another.
These examples, just a few among many at CCCU institutions, remind us that religion and faith are thriving. Christian higher education institutions demonstrate that moral integrity and Christian values are vital to both professional and personal development. Moral behavior based upon Christian principles and values leads to both tangible and intangible outcomes, expanding beyond university walls to benefit surrounding communities and advance the overall good of society. All around the nation, Christian colleges are keeping faith alive for the flourishing of all.
This story appears in the September 2025 issue of DeseretMagazine. Learn more about how to subscribe.