At Harvard, there is a clear emphasis on the importance of reason – our General Education requirements include Ethical Reasoning, and before the establishment of the GenEd system, the Core required us to take a Moral Reasoning core; so even in creating requirements that parallel other colleges’ ‘religious ethics’ requirements, Harvard adds an emphasis on ‘reasoning!’ And this stress on reason tends to translate to our religious life as well – many of us take the intellectual approach to religion, rationalizing our practice of faith and defending our beliefs by showing their practicality and rationality.
In this atmosphere, what is the role of faith? Is reason, as Harvard’s culture seems to implicitly suggest, superior to faith? Are reason and faith really irreconcilable? What implications does this have on religious practice in our lives?
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