T.M. Kayode

It’s been a while since I last posted—about three weeks, if we’re being exact. I checked.

Today, I’m returning to a series of discussions I started back in April: The Making of a World-Class University. If you haven’t read Part 1, you can find it here. And if you’re so inclined, I’m sure you can find the rest from there.

When we left off in Part 3, we’d explored some of the “secret sauce” that helps certain institutions achieve world-class status. But today, I want to take a different route—to step back in time and examine the very origins of the university itself. Where did this concept of a “university” come from? How did it evolve? And, perhaps most interestingly, what role did the church play in its formation?

Lately, I’ve been reading The Third Education Revolution by Vishal Mangalwadi, and it’s been a thought-provoking journey. The book sheds light on the intertwined history of faith and learning, and it’s made me pause and consider how our current model of higher education owes its origins to Christian thought and tradition.

To understand this, let’s journey back to Europe’s first educational revolution, which ultimately led to the founding of the University of Bologna in Italy in 1088—the oldest university in the world that’s still in operation. But to get a full picture, we actually need to rewind a few more centuries, back to around 800 AD, when a Frankish king named Charlemagne took the throne.

The Birth of Scholarship Under King Charlemagne

In 800 AD, Charlemagne, the King of the Franks, became the Roman Emperor. Now, Charlemagne was a devout Christian, but he held a belief that many Christians at the time also shared: the idea that to truly convert to Christianity, one had to be baptized—by force if necessary. Charlemagne took it a step further and ordered that all pagans in his kingdom be baptized, or face death.

Then along came an English philosopher and priest named Alcuin of York. Alcuin held a revolutionary belief for that time: faith cannot be forced. Between 735 and 804 AD, Alcuin convinced Charlemagne that true conversion was a matter of the heart, not a matter of the sword. Conversion, he argued, was inseparable from education. To “convert” was to “educate.” Real faith was a result of a personal transformation, as described in 2 Corinthians 5:17—“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” True conversion, Alcuin explained, was an act of free will, brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit, not by coercion.

This conversation marked a turning point. Charlemagne abandoned his policy of forced conversions and instead turned his attention to fostering education and scholarship. This shift had profound consequences. It wasn’t just a change in religious policy; it was a catalyst for a cultural and intellectual awakening across his empire. Charlemagne himself learned to read and became an avid admirer of the writings of St. Augustine of Hippo. Inspired by Augustine, Charlemagne established a royal library filled with works on language, theology, and Christian philosophy.

This newfound respect for scholarship and learning became the foundation for what we now know as the university system.

The Foundation of the University of Bologna

By the time the University of Bologna was founded in 1088, Charlemagne’s legacy of valuing education had already set the stage. Bologna wasn’t an isolated creation—it was part of a broader movement that viewed education as a pathway to understanding God’s creation and humanity’s place within it. At Bologna, clergy came to study the laws of Justinian, and theology was revered as the “queen of sciences.” Universities were licensed by popes, who saw education as an extension of the church’s mission to cultivate thoughtful, educated citizens.

In fact, many of the earliest universities were essentially the “educational outreach programs” of the church. These institutions were founded to train clergy and equip leaders who would serve both the church and the state. The Christian roots of many of the oldest universities cannot be overstated:

• Oxford University was established to educate individuals for both ecclesiastical and governmental roles.
• Harvard University, founded in 1636, originally held the motto “Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae”—“Truth for Christ and the Church.”
• Yale University similarly held strong ties to religious education, aiming to produce ministers and civic leaders.

These institutions weren’t just about academic achievement; they were about spiritual formation and societal influence. Theology wasn’t merely one department among many; it was often the foundation upon which the university’s intellectual pursuits were built.

The Shift Away From Christian Foundations

As the centuries passed, universities gradually shifted away from their Christian foundations. Enlightenment thinking and secularism transformed these institutions, as the focus turned more toward individual autonomy and intellectual freedom. Theology, once considered the central discipline, was gradually sidelined as universities embraced a broader range of subjects.

Today, we live in a world where universities are often seen as places of ideological neutrality or, in some cases, outright skepticism toward religious perspectives. The modern university has become a place where knowledge is pursued for its own sake, with little regard for the faith-based foundations upon which it was built. Science, technology, engineering, and the arts have taken center stage, while the church—once a birthplace of knowledge and innovation—stands largely outside the gates of the university system.

What If the Church Could Reclaim Its Role?

There’s an old adage that says, “What goes around comes around.” A mentor of mine likes to say, “New is old happening to new people.” And it makes me wonder: could we live in a world where the church once again becomes a place that births new knowledge and innovation? Could the church become a space where breakthroughs in science, technology, engineering, and the arts are not just celebrated, but cultivated?

Imagine if churches partnered with academic institutions, fostering environments where faith and reason coexist. Imagine if the church reclaimed its role as a center of intellectual rigor and cultural influence, just as it was in the days of Charlemagne. Could we see a revival of the church as a place where the pursuit of truth—both spiritual and intellectual—is encouraged and celebrated?

Final Thoughts

The history of universities is deeply intertwined with the history of the church, and this relationship has shaped the educational landscape we know today. But somewhere along the way, that partnership was broken. Universities drifted toward secularism, while the church sometimes retreated into its own corners, becoming less engaged with intellectual and cultural spheres.

Perhaps the time has come to reimagine this relationship. Maybe the church and the university, each with its own unique strengths, could once again work together to explore the depths of human knowledge and spiritual truth. After all, the pursuit of knowledge and the pursuit of faith don’t have to be mutually exclusive. They can, and historically have, complemented each other in powerful ways.

So, could we see a new era where the church and university meet again at the confluence of faith and knowledge, sparking a fresh wave of innovation, wisdom, and understanding? I believe it’s possible. And I think it’s a conversation worth having.

Until next time,
Byeeeeeeeeee!