The Integration of Faith and Learning

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."
- Proverbs 1:7

Christ-Centered Higher Education

Since 1898, Dallas Baptist University has been providing Christ-centered higher education in the arts and sciences, and at the heart of this endeavor is a commitment to the integration of faith and learning in every classroom and throughout every curriculum.

The History of Integration of Faith and Learning

The integration of faith and learning is not a novel concept that DBU only recently developed. In fact, throughout the history of education, faith and learning went hand in hand, and some of the most brilliant minds mankind has ever seen were themselves committed to the Christian faith and understood their pursuit of learning as an act of worship.

Unfortunately, while the integration of faith and learning had been the standard method of education for centuries, beginning in the 19th-century and moving forward, faith increasingly found itself being pushed out of the world of higher education as it was believed that faith was a hindrance to truth.

A Conviction that Faith Illuminates Truth

While so much of higher education has moved away from integrating faith and learning, we have instead remained committed to the conviction that faith illuminates truth.

We believe that God is the creator of all things, seen and unseen, and because of this, as the Apostle Paul proclaimed in Athens, every aspect of creation lives and moves and has their being in Him (Acts 17:28). In fact, the vision of Paul in Athens, engaging the greatest philosophers and thinkers of the day at the Areopagus, is what inspires us to pursue this mission of higher learning.

Learning Infused with Faith

With a biblical worldview as our foundation and the Lord as our guide, we challenge students at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels to do more than just pray about their studies and read their Bibles.

We show them how to explore and analyze their chosen disciplines and bring them to bear under the light of Scripture. We provide them with the latest scholarship and innovations from a variety of fields and philosophical backgrounds while also equipping them to infuse the Christian faith into every aspect of what they study.

The end result is more than just an excellent education within a Christian environment. It is more than just a prayer at the beginning of class, a chapel service during the week, or a cross on the campus. It is the development of Christian doctors, lawyers, teachers, and citizens. It is answering the world’s desperate cry for servant leaders–for leaders who are not only excellent at what they do but who also have a passion for serving others.

A Holistic Education

We strive to provide a fully holistic education centered around the understanding of the integration of faith and learning, recognizing that, as Christian historian Mark Noll has stated, Christ is the Lord of all things, including the Lord of the Academic road. At DBU, we love proclaiming this truth!

This is the difference that the integration of faith and learning can make in the classroom...this is the DBU Difference!

Learn More About the Importance of Choosing a Christian University

Additional Resources
For more resources regarding this concept of the integration of faith and learning, please see the resources listed below:

• Commentary on the Mission Statement of DBU (2002, April) by the late Dr. David Naugle, noted author, lecturer, and former chair and professor of philosophy at DBU.
• The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship by George Marsden (1997)
• Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind by Mark Noll (2011)
• The Idea of a Christian College by Arthur Holmes (1987).