THE CHRISTIAN LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE AND THE
                             TRANSFORMATION OF CULTURE
                                          
                                *RAYMOND G. DEVRIES*
                          Associate Professor of Sociology
                                  Westmont College
            
                 We talk liberal arts, but we don't do it.  We talk 
            Christian community, but we don't live it.  The 
            "Individualism in American Life" conference sponsored by the 
            department of sociology at Westmont College and the 
            Institute for Christian Leadership was an effort to lessen 
            the gap between what we say and what we do.  The publication 
            of Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in 
            American Life, by Robert Bellah and his colleagues provided 
            the impetus for the conference.  Here is a book that calls 
            on the insights of several disciplines (the authors included 
            three sociologists, a philosopher, and a theologian) to 
            consider the difficulty of maintaining community in modern 
            life.  Recent evidence suggests that Americans have some 
            trouble balancing individual desires and the good of the 
            community.  Everyone--from the leaders of the evangelical 
            church to the Marine guards at the United States embassy in 
            Moscow--seems to be willing to forsake the common good for 
            individual pleasure.  We at church-related schools are in a 
            strong position to speak to this issue, to present methods 
            of achieving healthy individualism within community.
                 Following a model provided by a similar conference held 
            at St. Olaf College, selected faculty members and 
            administrators were asked to read Habits of the Heart and to 
            write a brief response.  These papers, collected here, 
            revolve around one of three themes: 1) individualism in 
            American life, 2) individualism in the liberal arts, or 3) 
            the role of the Christian liberal arts college in 
            transforming culture.  Participants were asked to base their 
            response in a viewpoint of their discipline and to focus on 
            problems specific to Christian liberal arts colleges like 
            Westmont.
                 Not surprisingly, at conference's end it seemed we had 
            just begun.  But we counted this as part of the success of 
            the conference--we began the process of learning from each 
            other, of talking to each other about what we are doing 
            here.  There were other rewards as well.  We learned about 
            our own individualism.  Many things about the 
            conference--from the way we transported ourselves to the 
            conference center (most drove there alone) to the anxiety 
            many of us felt about presenting papers to each other ("they 
            will find out how little I know")--called attention to the 
            fact that #e lacked community on campus.  We dabbled in the 
            disciplines of others and gained a new respect for our 
            colleagues.  We learned about the heritage of community that 
            is a part of our Judeo-Christian faith.  We learned 
            practical (and not so practical) strategies for promoting 
            community in the classroom and across the campus.

            





                 The papers are grouped according to the categories 
            above.  The papers on "Individualism in American Life," 
            begin with Cook's lyrical and admittedly romantic discussion 
            of the source of community in the individual.  Blankenbaker 
            and Tarman explore biblical models of community and present 
            them as alternatives to modern, radical individualism.  
            Fagan considers the ability of religion to transcend the 
            individual and Leming examines the dilemmas faced by those 
            with strong value commitments who find themselves teaching 
            in a pluralistic society.  Nelson views the individualistic 
            ethic through the eyes of the poor and challenges us to make 
            our students aware of this perspective.
                 Those who consider "Individualism in the Liberal Arts" 
            conclude that the liberal arts can either promote 
            individualism or be made to serve the ends of the community.  
            The outcome depends on the approach adopted by the 
            institution and its faculty.  Mullen suggests that we must 
            choose: are we to be served by truth, or to be servants of 
            truth?  Schmidt believes that if we are to marry intellect 
            and virtue we must avoid being "cowboys of community"--the 
            rugged, independent heroes of academics.  Ankeny and Schultz 
            present methods that help students recognize and learn from 
            community, beginning with the community of the classroom and 
            extending to the larger social and historical community.
                 Papers in the final session consider the possibility of 
            using the Christian liberal arts college as a vehicle to 
            transform culture.  Schloss provides a thoughtful analysis 
            of the way our values are shaped by the privatization and 
            secularization of society and asks what education can do to 
            reshape our values and those of our students.  Hess calls 
            the Westmont community into account for its failures and 
            suggests that before we change the world "out there" we must 
            change the world "in here."  Furnish presents strategies for 
            avoiding the destructive individualism of our culture and 
            Rapson discusses techniques he has used to help students 
            discover community as a resource for lifelong learning.
                 I trust these papers will encourage faculty on other 
            campuses to begin a dialogue that focuses on the goals of 
            their institution.  One way for that dialogue to proceed is 
            by considering institutions as "individuals."  Too often it 
            seems that church-related schools see themselves as 
            competitors in the educational marketplace, vying for their 
            share of the limited pool of students.  This image leads us 
            to become mere merchants of education, the sellers of 
            credentials.  An alternative vision sees the church-related 
            college as part of the larger Christian community, serving 
            the needs of that community--not just for the education of 
            their adolescents, but as an agent that keeps the Church 
            fresh by helping it "renew its mind."  This means rethinking 
            our goals: giving more attention to the new faculty (who, 
            let's agree, are still in training) who spend some time with 
            us before moving out of the church-related college, taking 
            seriously and responsibly our role as a generator of 
            knowledge for the Christian church, providing a model of 

            





            those who are unafraid to explore the physical and social 
            world created by God.
                 If we forget our calling to the Christian liberal arts 
            and become preoccupied with how to market ourselves, should 
            we be surprised when we produce students whose calling is 
            ignored #n favor or marketability?  We need to discover our 
            place in community not just as individuals, but as 
            institutions.