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Book Review: Amid the Stresses and Strains of Higher Education, Christian Study Centers Are Thriving

May 20, 2020

In Daniel Hummel's opinion, "Cotherman’s excellent book illustrates how there has been and will continue to be an evangelical impulse to care for the mind, body, and spirit of these university communities."

Daniel Hummel, historian and Program Curator for Academic Communities at Upper House, recently reviewed To Think Christianly: A History of L’Abri, Regent College, and the Christian Study Center Movement (InterVarsity Press, 2020) by Charles E. Cotherman. The in-depth review is now online at Christianity Today. The result of a decade of archival and interview research, Cotherman’s book provides thought-provoking insight into the postwar movement to establish study centers on campuses around the world.

At a May 2020 webinar, Hummel hosted Cotherman and 48 attendees in discussion of the evolution and unique offerings of Christian study centers. Currently, around 30 study centers offer students, faculty, and staff hospitable space, within which community members might “unite mind and heart” as they consider:

  • the role Christian faith can play in the pursuit of academic knowledge
  • what it means to have a faithful Christian presence in a modern university community
  • how Christian thought can inform–and form–anyone in any field, from architecture to zoology

At a virtual book launch (May 28, 2020), Cotherman will shed light on the compelling history and potential of the study center movement, as well as discuss the process of researching and writing his book, with InterVarsity Press’s academic editorial director, Jon Boyd.

In Hummel’s opinion, “Cotherman’s excellent book illustrates how there has been and will continue to be an evangelical impulse to care for the mind, body, and spirit of these university communities.” This vision infuses the work of Upper House, where we welcome all who long to explore the life of the mind and questions of the soul.

To read more, see  “Amid the Stresses and Strains of Higher Education, Christian Study Centers Are Thriving,” by Daniel Hummel, at Christianity Today online.