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The Resilience of Religion in American Higher Education. By John Schmalzbauer and Kathleen A. Mahoney. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2018. xi + 283 pp. $49.95 cloth.
In The Resilience of Religion in American Higher Education, John Schmalzbauer and Kathleen A. Mahoney observe that religion has staged an unexpected comeback in twenty-first-century American higher education. Such a return certainly contradicts conventional secularization theories that envision society becoming less religious as it becomes more modern. This conclusion also conflicts with historical studies that have chronicled the secularization of the academy. Despite the seemingly irrefutable evidence concerning secularization's impact upon twentieth-century higher education, Schmalzbauer and Mahoney contend that religious frameworks and concepts coexist with the secular and continue to influence American higher education.
Schmalzbauer and Mahoney draw upon social movement theory to identify the sources fueling the revival of religion in higher education. The first chapter outlines the different ways that commentators have framed discussions about religion in higher education. The authors also review how new and extent organizations and networks have mobilized to advocate for the academic study of religion, to strengthen church-related colleges, and to encourage extracurricular religious activities. They also uncover how new resources, most importantly philanthropic foundations, such as the Lilly Endowment, have funded work in each of these areas. The recent resurgence of religion in the academy, Schmalzbauer and Mahoney conclude, came at a propitious moment because the decline of positivism...