The Soul of the American University Revisited | 2021
Liberal Protestantism at Michigan
Abstract
In the later nineteenth century the University of Michigan under President James Angell was often seen as a model of a modern university friendly to Christianity. Early in his tenure the university was accused of discrimination in preferring Protestant Christianity to Roman Catholicism, Judaism, or atheism. Angell responded to the satisfaction of a state investigating committee that while the school was Christian, it was not sectarian in the sense of teaching any one theology in preference to another. The emphasis was on building moral character rather than relating theology directly to other learning. Throughout the rest of the century this was the prevailing resolution of the tension between the Christian heritage and modern scientific research ideals. Characteristic was a volume, Religious Thought at the University of Michigan (1893), published by the Student Christian Association at Michigan. It represented a broad Christian ethical emphasis and included a presentation by John Dewey.