The ivory tower and the public realm

This essay is a response to the question of whether scholars of religion in the employ of the modern university have an obligation to help meet the challenges and threats 'to the social order sometimes linked to aspects of religion' raised at the 2023 annual meeting of the Canadian Society for the Study of Religion. Donald Wiebe argues here that even raising the question ignores, or reveals a failure to understand, the character and purpose of the modern university, which is the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. The task of the professor, therefore, is simply to transmit accepted knowledge, seek out new knowledge, and confer on students the skills necessary to grow knowledge of the world and its contents. Wiebe maintains, therefore, that even considering the question amounts to an unjustifiable attempt to inflate the importance of the profession, which will result in making scholars of religion in the academy public intellectuals and departments for the study of religion a type of non-governmental organization. Cet essai repond a la question de savoir si les specialistes de la religion au service de l'universite moderne ont l'obligation d'aider a relever les defis et les menaces a l'ordre social parfois lies a des aspects de la religion souleves lors de la reunion annuelle de 2023 de la Societe canadienne pour l'etude de la religion. Donald Wiebe soutient ici que le fait de soulever la question ignore ou revele une incapacite a comprendre le caractere et l'objectif de l'universite moderne, qui est la poursuite de la connaissance pour elle-meme. La tache du professeur consiste donc simplement a transmettre des connaissances reconnues, a rechercher de nouvelles connaissances et a conferer aux etudiants les competences necessaires pour developper leur connaissance du monde et de son contenu. Wiebe soutient donc que le fait d'envisager la question equivaut a une tentative injustifiable de gonfler l'importance de la profession, ce qui aboutira a faire des chercheurs en religion de l'academie des intellectuels publics et des departements d'etude de la religion un type d'organisation non gouvernementale.

Automated summary

This essay responds to the question of whether scholars of religion in the employ of the modern university have an obligation to help meet the challenges and threats to the social order sometimes linked to aspects of religion. The author argues that raising this question itself ignores or reveals a failure to understand the character and purpose of the modern university, which is the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. The professor's task, therefore, is simply to transmit accepted knowledge, seek out new knowledge, and confer on students the skills necessary to grow their knowledge of the world and its contents. The author maintains that considering this question amounts to an unjustifiable attempt to inflate the importance of the profession, resulting in scholars of religion in academia becoming public intellectuals and departments for the study of religion resembling non-governmental organizations.