That the majority of American colleges, even those started under strongly Christian auspices, have become secularized with amazing rapidity—within the last fifty or sixty years— is an obvious fact to be deplored or applauded according to the point of view. For the natural sciences which fought against the domination of theology secularization is, of course, a victory and one so complete that not only does religion not dominate, it is not accorded equality. This is the more striking in the highly endowed schools of the Atlantic seaboard because they were founded as theological seminaries, Harvard to ‘supply the spiritual needs of the colonies’, Yale as a Calvinist stronghold when Harvard became Unitarian, Amherst to prepare ‘poor boys to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ’. Until 1800 all of the Fellows of the governing body of Harvard were clergymen; after 1884 no ministers were included. In 1800 the Professor of Divinity at Yale, Dr Wright, was also president of the college; by 1900 such a combination had become unthinkable.

The women’s colleges have a similar history. It is interesting to trace the change in religion at Mt Holyoke, for example, from the dogmatic Calvinism of Mary Lyon (which included a belief in total depravity) to the present day Universalism, a religion broad enough, according to the address given in 1937 by the retiring secretary of the Y.W.C.A., to include Catholic, Protestant and Jew in the worship of the one God, Father of all.

As the theological faculties declined in dignity and influence the scientific faculties increased.