The University of Notre Dame’s Committee to examine the school’s core curriculum issued its reports yesterday. The headline is obvious: Despite pressure to drop the required theology courses for all undergraduates from the current two to a single course, the committee recommended retaining the current two-course requirement.
This decision has consequences for academic theology nationwide. Given its iconic status, had Notre Dame lowered the requirement, other schools would have been tempted to do the same. The concern, so obvious in the culture, that colleges prepare students for the world of work, combines with the concern of many academic leaders about their ranking on those insidious US News & World Report surveys, and both undermine an undergraduate curriculum aimed at making sure its graduates know how to think.
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