Would a christian college be biased in theology or philosophy?

[Firis]

I am looking to major in Philosophy, and I have gotten a couple college offers, one of which is Xavier. Xavier is well respected, but it is also a Christian university, do you guys think their classes would be biased to Christian themes or even downright not teach "offensive" ideologies? I am a Junior so I have plenty of time to decide, but I can't find any answers for this particular question, my gut says they would.

 

[SelfAppointedGunslinger]

I would say it depends more on the bias of the individual teacher (depending on how religious they are) as well as the college itself, but there's nothing you can really do about them. If you've got a bad feeling about it, then the best thing to do would be to contact the university and ask for a detailed explaination of the philosophy course and what it covers.

 

[L0ki]

I would say it depends more on the bias of the individual teacher (depending on how religious they are) as well as the college itself, but there's nothing you can really do about them. If you've got a bad feeling about it, then the best thing to do would be to contact the university and ask for a detailed explaination of the philosophy course and what it covers.

I agree with this. It depends all on your Teacher. A Christian College, if teaching Philosophy, has to teach all forms and Philosophies even if it goes against the religion of the College; However, I'm sure they're going to explain why Christian Philosophy is more dominant than that being taught (when it comes to a non-Christian philosophy).

 

[Necromancer]

I would just recommend asking about the classes as well, but if you can't get some kind of straight answer or you're still unsure after they've responded to your inquiries, I wouldn't risk things by going there.

 

[Tsuyu]

"Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school..."

Might sound offensive; but my advice would be to avoid like the plague. You don't want to go to a school where the Pope is head principal.

 

[TRA Rotid]

I guess there's a reason they are catholic. Doesn't make sense for a Christian college not to be biased.

 

[Arseface]

See if you can talk to the guys there who are already doing the class, chat with the teachers etc.

Personally, I'd never willingly go to a school which is affiliated with any religion.

 

[Angel]

All of the above. Any school with a Christian ethos at its core will, by definition, have a propensity to promote basic Christian values which although not markedly different from just being a decent human (play nice, be good etc) will stem from biblical references as opposed to any other. However, all educational establishments (with the exception of those who gain an exempt status which is usually Jewish or Muslim, given the culture difference) are required to accept submissions from all candidates for consideration before enrolment and are also expected to educate to a certain degree as any other college/school would. I don't know how it works where you are, but here just because it is a Christian school, it can't avoid teaching other stuff.

A college teaching philosophy cannot just teach one type - they can hardly offer philosophy as a subject if they only cover one tiny part of it. A lot of philosophy is outside of Christian influence after all and I would have thought a related qualification would require far more than just what one religion believes. However, the rest of college life may well be dominated by Catholic practices (rather you than me) and this may not be what you want. Call them, have a chat and also see if anyone who isn't Catholic or Christian has also been there before to study your chosen topic. If it's not for you, pick another college you know will give you what you want

 

[Arseface]

A college teaching philosophy cannot just teach one type - they can hardly offer philosophy as a subject if they only cover one tiny part of it.

You'd be surprised. I'm doing a course which is officially titled Advanced Diploma in Music, and we only study Jazz.

Not that I'm complaining. Jazz is cool, It's just we can't do anything else.

 

[Angel]

That really surprises me actually. Maybe it's because I can only base off what it's like in UK. Here, they scream discrimination the minute you try and do anything exclusive. You can have a Christian school here but by hell you have to either have acquired exemption or you have to teach what everyone else teaches - which I personally think is fair enough. My daughter goes to a C of E school (it's nearest - I'm not C of E myself) and the only religiously different things they do are attend church once a week, have a school prayer and sings hymns in assembly - all of which you can opt out of if you wish. They still learn about other religions, cultures, normal science lessons.

I'll be honest, I wouldn't send her to a school that only taught one type of thinking. It's a dangerous thing to encourage in general education at such a young age; she's too little to "specialise" like you would as a late teen/adult pursuing further education. How would she make informed choices without information? She's got our church, literature and family for her Christian questions - at school I expect her to be receiving an education that will cover the same aspects as anywhere else.

 

[cheezMcNASTY]

the 'christian university' thing is really just a title. they aren't going to teach creationism in a genetics course. they may emphasize christian philosophers a bit (they did actually play a major role at parts) but i wouldn't let it stop you. xavier is a good school. the only time i've seen a religious reputation get in the way was at St. Josephs University, where tuition is high and graduation is easy. the result? a bunch of rich christian kids partying too hard, never getting any work done, and most of them turning out close-minded morons. but like i said, that isn't xavier. i'd go to xavier if i got in, and i'm not even raised christian.

'course if you did go to Xavier i'd be forced to punch you in the face at any and all homecoming games.
also we pwnd your basketball team this year.

 

[Firis]

'course if you did go to Xavier i'd be forced to punch you in the face at any and all homecoming games.
also we pwnd your basketball team this year.

The only sports teams I like are either Futbol teams or the Bengals and Steelers, so no worries.

 

[Sean]

I am looking to major in Philosophy, and I have gotten a couple college offers, one of which is Xavier. Xavier is well respected, but it is also a Christian university, do you guys think their classes would be biased to Christian themes or even downright not teach "offensive" ideologies? I am a Junior so I have plenty of time to decide, but I can't find any answers for this particular question, my gut says they would.

I can tell you that my sister went to a Christian college because she is going there for sociology, I don't know if this is what it will be like for all Christian colleges but she described it as very close-minded and un-open, majority Republican and obviously Christian, and they all seem to have the similar mind-set so if you were to oppose them they would look at you like you're crazy. The details go on and on so it's not a college I would go to, but that's just one college... I'm not sure if all the other Christian colleges would be the same.

 

[TRA Rotid]

You'd be surprised. I'm doing a course which is officially titled Advanced Diploma in Music, and we only study Jazz.

Not that I'm complaining. Jazz is cool, It's just we can't do anything else.

Maybe it's a FotM thing?

 

[Arseface]

What is FotM?

 

[TRA Rotid]

Flavor of the Month
You know, Jazz is the THING nowadays.

 

[Arseface]

Naw, it's got nothing to do with how popular it is. Jazz is just the best style of music to teach, because it's so broad. If you learn how to play jazz well, then you can pretty much play anything well.

 

[D3m190d]

Not completely. I had some different stuff in my piano lessons. One of them was jazz, because of the peculiar sounds. Actually, pop is rather broad, because it contains different genres including jazz. But I guess actually each genre has a significant amount of stuff to add to your music skill. So yeah, Jazz has it's own portion of good stuff.

ON TOPIC, though: I have NO idea about christian stuff. =|

 

[Arseface]

I meant that because jazz is a lot more complex with regards to the music. Most pop since the fifties has been four chords in one or two keys, with the same set of notes used. Most jazz is a lot more complex than that.

 

[D3m190d]

I meant that because jazz is a lot more complex with regards to the music. Most pop since the fifties has been four chords in one or two keys, with the same set of notes used. Most jazz is a lot more complex than that.

It is more complex, yeah. But I think pop is more wideranged, taking elements from different genres. But still, you're right about those four chords... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pidokakU4I