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Francis 1Chad Francis“Miss” CondictENG 1304: 044 April 2006Baylor’s Religious IdentityAs Baylor University continues its 2012 Vision, an endless number of decisions must bemade in regards to how Baylor operates. Nearly every aspect of the institution must be analyzedand, in many cases, fought over as The Vision attempts to make Baylor a premiere, Christian- based research institution. Such debates have spawned from issues concerning faculty researchrequired for tenure or the financing for new building projects on campus, but by far the mostheated and longest running debate has to do with how the school will choose to retain itsreligious identity as a Christian or more specifically, a Baptist university.This ongoing search to find the perfect balance between the scholarly and the spiritualaspects of the school finds its most consequential disputes in the area of academic freedom, atopic so impassioned it is tearing the school in two. The most direct debate over academicfreedom has to do with what is to be defined as acceptable study, research and, most importantly,teaching of Baylor’s faculty members, in Baylor’s name, and with Baylor’s money. However, asthis debate has developed, it has digressed into a question which seems as though it should precede it, and that is what kind of faculty is to be hired by Baylor in the first place? As TheVision suggests, Baylor’s ultimate goal by 2012 is to be a top-tier university which has held fastto its religious identity. This task is by no means easy; in fact, it has never been accomplished.Therefore, as Baylor seeks to reach uncharted territory, it is first necessary to examine what other faith-based universities have done in similar situations. Two schools which have faced this
 
Francis 2question and which have taken nearly opposite approaches are Wheaton College in Indiana and Notre Dame University in Illinois.Wheaton College affiliates itself very strongly with the Protestant evangelical church.The tie is so close that they, in some ways, seem to shun other denominations in order to hold onto the school’s foundation and traditions within their own. Spiritual involvement is required for all students, faculty and staff, and that involvement must be within the Protestant Christianchurch. Earlier this year, faculty member, Joshua Hochschild, outwardly proclaimed hisconversion to the Roman Catholic faith. Hochschild had been contemplating conversion for quite some time, but once his decision was made, he quickly found himself fired. This dismissalwas not due to any personal objections to Mr. Hochschild’s conversion, but instead, to writtenrules in place against the hiring of those outside Protestant evangelical Christianity. The WallStreet Journal describes what took place:Wheaton's 12-point statement doesn't explicitly exclude Catholics. But itsemphasis on Scripture as the ‘supreme and final authority’ and its aligning of Wheaton with ‘evangelical Christianity’ were unmistakably Protestant. […]Because Catholics regard the Bible and the pope as equally authoritative, aCatholic ‘cannot faithfully affirm’ the Wheaton statement (Golden par. 39).The fact that a Catholic applicant cannot affirm Wheaton’s statement of faith is proof that theschool has gone to great lengths to preserve a very specific religious affiliation. These lengthsextend beyond the hiring of faculty as well. Another professor, Alex Bolyanatz, was fired late in2000 for not adhering to Wheaton’s teaching policy which is equally strict in its preservation of faith.
 
Francis 3On the opposite end, Notre Dame stands proud. Established in 1842, Notre Dame was built upon very strong Roman Catholic beliefs. In fact, for quite some time, the Catholic Churchactually had partial control over the university. It is interesting to note, though, that theuniversity never really took off as a prestigious institution until it broke off from the CatholicChurch in the 1960s. W. David Solomon, a Baylor graduate and professor at Notre Dame,explains this event and stresses at great length that the choice to follow Notre Dame’s footstepswould be in the best interest of Baylor. He writes, “[Around 1965], the Congregation of the HolyCross (the Catholic religious order that founded and owned Notre Dame) turned the universityover to a secular board of trustees,” and goes on to say, “Its endowment has grown from $50million in the late 1960s to nearly a billion dollars today” (par. 6 and 9). With this switch came amuch more liberal approach to who is hired and what is taught. Notre Dame no longer requiresany certain faith out of their faculty, and while their academic freedom policy is continuallydisputed, it remains open to most views. Yet most would agree that since this switch, NotreDame’s ability to retain its religious identity has grown substantially more difficult. Few wouldstill be able to recognize Notre Dame as a Catholic school were it not for its name or the vasticonic architecture displayed throughout its campus.The contrast between these two schools, alone, is enough to answer the derived questionregarding hired faculty: Baylor should simply continue to apply the policy that has been in placefor years. The policy includes hiring those of the Protestant Christian, Catholic Christian andJewish traditions while seeking to retain about 50% of their faculty as Baptists. Accepting professors from all walks of life and any belief, no matter how qualified, would be incrediblydangerous for Baylor’s religious rooting as can be seen at Notre Dame, and frankly, it isunnecessary. It is fought that, in doing this, Baylor could be turning down brilliant minds who
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