What is Faith Integration?
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“[Faith] integration is concerned with integral relationships between faith and knowledge, the relationships which inherently exist between the content of the faith and the subject-matter of this or that discipline; such connections do not have to be invented or manufactured. But they do need to be ascertained and developed; unless this is done faith and knowledge may appear to be, and for practical purposes may be in fact, alien and unrelated to each other. Finally, faith-learning integration is especially concerned with the disciplines into which our knowledge is organized; the same concerns of subject-matter and methodology which lead to the distinction of disciplines also dictate that, initially at least, faith-learning integration is best pursued at the level of particular academic disciplines.”
—William Hasker
Faith-Learning Integration: An Overview, Christian Scholars Review, March 1992, Volume
XXI, Number 3, p. 235
Research
For Christian academics, faith integration begins with investigating research questions and methodologies that will contribute to the advance of the discipline and the gathering of meaningful content for teaching, scholarly projects, and performances. It is here that the curious Christian intellectual (whether prepared in the sciences, liberal arts, the fine or performing arts, or the professions) will discover places where the knowledge of their discipline and the themes from the Christian faith intersect and invite further development.
Teaching
Research in faith integration is a fundamental element of course preparation in a university like APU. Moreover, the fruits of such exploration will show up in myriad ways in the Christian university classroom. Here students have opportunities to think critically from a Christian point of view, to explore ideas from the vantage point of Christian tradition, and to challenge, deepen, and affirm cultural, professional, or disciplinary perspectives related to the content of their courses. Christian educators are not afraid of introducing their students to difficult questions, nor are they content to pass on answers that go unchallenged.
Scholarship
Faith integration investigations proceed to the dissemination of research findings through scholarly publications and performances. In this way the unique perspectives of Christian university faculty influence the academic discipline and transform the world.