Question:
How many of the top 10 Universities offer graduate degrees for those seeking a career in ministry?
There seems to be a stereotype here on YA that religious=stupid. Here is the list of the top 10 universities in the country according to US News and World Reports (duplicate numbers indicate a tie) :
1. Princeton *
2. Harvard *
3. Yale *
4. California Institute of Technology
4. Stanford
4. M.I.T.
7. Duke *
8. Dartmouth College
9. Columbia University *
9. University of Chicago *
Schools marked with an * offer graduate level degrees (according to the Association of Theological Schools) to students who intend to pursue a career in some form of full time ministry, whether that is teaching, church work, or work in a non-profit. So, the top 3 universities, and 7 of the top 10, offer advanced degrees to religious people. (I am a student at Wake Forest University's Divinity School.)
How does this affect your opinion of the intelligence of religious people?
If you still hold the opinion that religious=stupid, how do you justify that opinion?
Answer:
I never thought religious = stupid.
I have a friend whose husband is the head of the religous studies dept at a local college. He got his Doctorate in Theology at Harvard. He's been all over the world studying religion, but mostly focuses on Asian religion, Buddhist & Hindu. One of his most popular classes is a comparative religion class that many students take thinking they are going to hate all other religions & end up finding a lot of similarites in the faiths.