Harvard Wants Undergraduates to Study Religion

Over 370 years ago, Harvard University was founded to train Puritan ministers. But through the centuries the curriculum has broadened extensively and the required courses for students have become focused on traditional academic subjects. But for the last few decades there have been increasingly heated discussions about what courses should be required.

The former President of Harvard, Lawrence Summers, made reform a priority in 2001, but the issue became bogged down after several committees held conflicting opinions and initial recommendations for reform were criticized as weak. Summers resigned earlier this year, forced out by faculty anger at his handling of a variety of issues, including the curriculum review.

The current core curriculum has been under fire for not focusing on real-world issues that students will likely have to confront once they graduate. So now a faculty committee is recommending that all undergraduate students be required to study religion.

"As academics in a university we don’t have to confront religion if we’re not religious," said Alison Simmons, a philosophy professor who co-chaired the committee," but in the world, they will have to." Harvard’s core curriculum has traditionally avoided the "Great Books" approach to higher education, instead focusing on "approaches to knowledge" rather than the standard bodies of knowledge other universities adhere to. However, the report points out that more than half of Harvard students plan to attend business, law, or medical school. Therefore, the new recommendations are designed to complement the liberal arts education of those students.

If the committee’s recommendations are adopted, Harvard would become the only school among Ivy League institutions that will require students to take courses in both religion and U.S. History. Columbia University has a significant core curriculum that includes required courses on religion, and Dartmouth currently requires a course in the analysis of religion.

Many other colleges and universities are in the process of reviewing general education requirements, according to Anne Neal, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. "From the looks of this new proposal, it is extremely good news," Neal said. "It appears Harvard has rejected the 'anything goes' distribution requirements in place at so many colleges in favor of a more structured, rigorous, and cohesive core curriculum."

The report, which has been circulated to faculty, notes that 94% of incoming students report discussing religion and 71% attend religious services. So, the committee says, although Harvard is no longer a religious institution, religion is a fact that Harvard graduates will confront in their lives. The report recommends that Harvard students be required to take a course in "reason and faith," including classes on Charles Darwin, religion and democracy, or a course that is currently being offered, called "Why Americans Love God and Europeans Don’t."