<p>Ellemenope,</p>
<p>Non-denominational does not mean non-religious. If you re-read the history of Stanford, you will see that Jane Stanford “considered Memorial Church to be the heart of the university” and that she insisted that the services be non-denominational to be sure that all felt welcome and would take part.</p>
<p>And I love your username! :-)</p>
<p>My Jewish cousin goes to Duquesne. Just because it is Jesuit operated, you don’t have to be religious or even Christian to want to attend. She took comparative religions for her religion requirement. You don’t have to adhere to the faith to go and/or get an education there!</p>
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<p>BYU is not even that expensive for non-LDS students: $21,440 per year (versus $16,880 per year for LDS students)</p>
<p>[BYU</a> Electronic Brochure](<a href=“http://saas.byu.edu/ebrochure/BYU_Financial_Aid_and_Scholarships_Guide/Step_1__Count_the_Cost/Cost_of_Attendance.php]BYU”>http://saas.byu.edu/ebrochure/BYU_Financial_Aid_and_Scholarships_Guide/Step_1__Count_the_Cost/Cost_of_Attendance.php)</p>
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<p>Oh–I took the term “religiously affiliated” to mean that the university was affiliated with an organized religion–like the LDS Church and BYU. Carry on…and glad you like the username.</p>
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<p>Among other reasons:
To learn more about one’s religion.</p>
<p>To get an excellent education with dedicated professors.</p>
<p>To save money (refer back to the OP).</p>
<p>To go to college with like-minded people instead of people who would “lol” about the very concept of going to a religious college.</p>
<p>And for people who want to marry those of like faith, you’ll have a larger pool of candidates if you attend a religiously affiliated college.</p>
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<p>To those who understand, no explanation is necessary. To those who don’t, no explanation is possible. ;)</p>
<p>BTW, I went to a secular U and loved it. Oldest is going to a Christian C and loves it. Middle will be going to a secular U and will likely love it. Youngest is undecided and will get to make his own decision.</p>
<p>All will get a good education according to their “fit” and “desires.”</p>
<p>What’s wrong is forcing a student to go one way or the other for parental desires.</p>
<p>To answer why would one attend a religious school, depends on what one means by a religious school. We are looking closely at Sewanee for the education, not the religion. It has lowered tuition as well and has had it 26th Rhodes scholar this year. It also has a varsity equestrian team which appeals to my daughter. It is “ranked” in the same ballpark as Bates, Oberlin, etc. by the USN&W report which, whether meaningful or not, had the effect of bringing it to our attention out here in Northern California. While not Episcopalian, we share Sewanee’s impulse toward public service. So, though we tend toward the secular, Sewanee may suit us very well. </p>
<p>If Sewanee renews the tuition discount, the low cost of that excellent LAC would make it very appealing to us - more so than an “elite” secular LAC for $15,000 more per year in total costs. Upon seeing the beautifully photographed campus on the Domain, my daughter immediately dubbed it “Hogwarts south.” It lived up to the photos when we visited campus. While I am mildly concerned about the Southern and religious elements, the overnighter went very well and alleviated any such concerns my daughter had.</p>
<p>Yale certainly has a religious history and still has a school of theology. As I recall, the liberal Christian element there was quite prominent in the 60’s in opposition to Vietnam, etc. We would borrow trays from the dinning hall to “tray” down the slopes of the Divinity school when it snowed, my only contact with that aspect of the University. </p>
<p>Clearly, there is a difference between schools with a historically Christian background, or even current religious affiliation, and bible colleges. The former may retain some religious trappings and offerings, but they do not focus on religious teachings except for the religion major, or for those choosing to attend the seminary.</p>
<p>Atheist college anyone? If there was an atheist college it would at least it might be full of smarter people (happy face). Scientific study much? Quoted from Helmuth Nyborg’s study at the University of Denmark in 2008.</p>
<p>“The present study examined whether IQ relates systematically to denomination and income within the framework of the g nexus, using representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY97). Atheists score 1.95 IQ points higher than Agnostics, 3.82 points higher than Liberal persuasions, and 5.89 IQ points higher than Dogmatic persuasions. Denominations differ significantly in IQ and income. Religiosity declines between ages 12 to 17. It is suggested that IQ makes an individual likely to gravitate toward a denomination and level of achievement that best fit his or hers particular level of cognitive complexity. Ontogenetically speaking this means that contemporary denominations are rank ordered by largely hereditary variations in brain efficiency (i.e. IQ). In terms of evolution, modern Atheists are reacting rationally to cognitive and emotional challenges, whereas Liberals and, in particular Dogmatics, still rely on ancient, pre-rational, supernatural and wishful thinking.”</p>
<p>Creekland wrote–</p>
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<p>Creekland, you are probably right. On the other hand, there may be those in the middle who are seeking understanding. Should we remain silent in the face of ridiculous claims that might dissuade someone in the middle from considering a Christian college?</p>
<p>For example, take DumbAndLethals statement. His ideas are wrong on many levels.</p>
<ol>
<li> The University of Denmark does not exist. [List</a> of Universities and Colleges in Denmark | Higher Education Institutions | Study in Denmark - StudyinEurope.eu](<a href=“http://www.studyineurope.eu/study-in-denmark/higher-education-institutions/]List”>http://www.studyineurope.eu/study-in-denmark/higher-education-institutions/) There are universities with similar names (for example, University of Southern Denmark and Technical University of Denmark), but Nyborg was not associated with them. He was associated with Aarhus University (<a href=“http://www.helmuthnyborg.dk/Curriculum-Vitae/CV-December-2009.pdf[/url]”>http://www.helmuthnyborg.dk/Curriculum-Vitae/CV-December-2009.pdf</a>) until 2007, when he retired after being investigated and reprimanded by the university in 2006.<br></li>
<li> Nyborg has been criticized for his scientific methods on other studies of intelligence. The 2006 reprimand was issued for preparing an investigation into sex-related intelligence results and using its results in a way that must be characterized as grossly negligent behaviour. [210906</a> - Rector?s decision regarding the Helmuth Nyborg case](<a href=“http://www.au.dk/en/about/news/oldnews/2006/210906a/]210906”>http://www.au.dk/en/about/news/oldnews/2006/210906a/) In 2011, he was reported to the Danish Committees on Scientific Dishonesty for scientific dishonesty and plagiarism relating to a study on immigration and intelligence, a case which is, to my knowledge, still pending. [Danish</a> Race Intelligence Professor Accused Of Dishonesty | Racism Daily](<a href=“http://racismdaily.com/2011/09/27/danish-race-intelligence-professor-accused-of-dishonesty/]Danish”>http://racismdaily.com/2011/09/27/danish-race-intelligence-professor-accused-of-dishonesty/)</li>
<li> Nyborg appears to have extreme political views and has been accused of misusing his title and authority to promote his political views. [Danish</a> Race Intelligence Professor Accused Of Dishonesty | Racism Daily](<a href=“http://racismdaily.com/2011/09/27/danish-race-intelligence-professor-accused-of-dishonesty/]Danish”>http://racismdaily.com/2011/09/27/danish-race-intelligence-professor-accused-of-dishonesty/) For example, he has been quoted as saying poor women should be paid to stop having children in order to increase the proportion of intelligent people in the population. [A</a> leading scientist says the poor should be paid NOT to have children. Have we learnt nothing from history? | Mail Online](<a href=“http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/columnists/article-229964/A-leading-scientist-says-poor-paid-NOT-children-Have-learnt-history.html]A”>A leading scientist says the poor should be paid NOT to have children. Have we learnt nothing from history? | Daily Mail Online) He also apparently believes that immigration into Denmark should be restricted because a combination of Internal Relaxation of Darwinian Selection (caused by such things a lifting pressure against elimination of harmful mutant genes) and External Relaxation of Darwinian Selection(super-fertile low-IQ non-Western immigration) will otherwise lead to intellectual corrosion and make Denmarks democracy unsustainable. <a href=“https://lesacreduprintemps19.files.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2011/04/nyborg-2011-the-decay-of-western-civilization-double-relaxed-darwinian-selection.pdf[/url]”>https://lesacreduprintemps19.files.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2011/04/nyborg-2011-the-decay-of-western-civilization-double-relaxed-darwinian-selection.pdf</a></li>
<li> Nyborgs study on religiosity and IQ is not easily available and therefore it is hard to judge its merits. The snippet DumbAndLethal quoted is just the abstract of the study. The study itself costs $31.50 to read on the internet (and Im not willing to pay a penny to read it). [ScienceDirect</a> - Intelligence : The intelligence?religiosity nexus: A representative study of white adolescent Americans](<a href=“http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289608001013]ScienceDirect”>http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289608001013) </li>
<li> Journalist Andrew Brown of The Guardian did read the study, and reports that the highest IQs in the study were held by agnostics, atheists, Jews, and Episcopalians (Anglicans). So, atheists are smarter than agnostics, Jews are smarter than atheists, and Anglicans the smartest of the lot … [The</a> tricky relation between religion and IQ | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk](<a href=“http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2008/dec/19/religion-iq-atheism]The”>Science proves Anglicans smartest | Andrew Brown | The Guardian). Not that I accept this statement, but following DumbAndLethals reasoning, maybe students should go to Episcopalian or Jewish colleges to find smarter people!</li>
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<p>It would be possible to critique the Nyborg study and DumbAndLethals statement in other ways, but Ive spent too much time on this already.</p>
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<p>I think you did a great job already. ;)</p>
<p>To anyone in the middle, I was there when oldest told me he wanted a Christian C. I’m quite ok with it now and he loves it.</p>
<p>I have to agree there are most certainly degrees of “religiousness”. Most colleges were begun by a church of some kind. For some the religion is a very central part of class and campus life, for others it is part of the guiding philosophy, for others it is just part of history.</p>
<p>Some of my son’s choices have religious backgrounds or even currently include some religious teaching/expectation, and where that is the case we make sure we are comfortable with what that means for students as we are not particularly faithful to any one church ourselves.</p>
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This fascinates me–I will just observe that for centuries atheists have engaged in wishful thinking–the belief that religion would soon fade away. They should do a study on the humility level of those same groups.</p>
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So this study could be useful to somebody deciding among Reed, Sewanee, and Brandeis.</p>
<p>How would groups who claim to know the will of “God” do compared to atheists on a study of relative humility levels? One is sure of existence, the other of non-existence. Relating these religious musings back to college, I was heartened to read about the liberal leanings and tolerance of Episcopalian doctrine, which makes that aspect of Sewanee more attractive to us.</p>