Talk:Baker University

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Christian?

Should this school be described as a “Private Christian University?” That’s the standard wording on other higher ed articles. Baker’s website says “We seek to continue the tradition established more than 160 years ago—devotion to the Christian faith and academic excellence.” found here. Thoughts? Grey Wanderer (talk) 23:46, 9 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Its mission and vision don't mention Christianity or anything related so that makes me begin to lean toward "no." However, there is something further down that page among their values: "In the tradition of our United Methodist heritage, these are Baker University’s values: ... Integrating learning with faith and values. We expect all participants to be open to questions of faith and values as part of intellectual inquiry in the United Methodist tradition. In particular, we expect personal and professional responsibility that is based on high standards of ethical conduct." That leaves the door open but the explicit use of "tradition" seems to walk a line between "this is historically part of the institution" and "this remains important to us" without fully committing the institution; it may an attempt to signal to alumni that the institution remains faithful to the cause while also attempting to signal to perspective students that the institution is diverse and open-minded.

There are many other institutions that have very similar language, likely for the same reasons. In my experience, its difficult to make a firm decision to label an institution "Christian" (or nearly anything else) without clear, explicit documentation. In some cases, I have found that by looking at the institution's memberships e.g., if an institution is part of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities then it's reasonable to label it as a Christian institution. But in the absence of such clear evidence I'm not comfortable using that label as it seems to cross into original research and supposition which of course we shouldn't do.

So unless there is additional evidence, I'm wary of simply labeling this institution "Christian;" the relationship may be more complex and nuanced (meaning it should be discussed in the article and cannot be easily summarized in one word in the lede). ElKevbo (talk) 01:30, 10 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

With that said, I would be comfortable labeling it a "United Methodist" university as that is the religious affiliation it claims in its documentation with the U.S. Department of Education. ElKevbo (talk) 01:33, 10 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]