c. 2007 Religion News Service
College for Christian Home-Schoolers Gains Accreditation
(RNS) Patrick Henry College, the Virginia institution known for preparing Christian home-schooled students for careers in public service, has received full accreditation.
The Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools granted the accreditation Tuesday (April 17), the Purcellville, Va.-based college announced.
“We are thrilled that we were able to get accreditation from TRACS on our first vote upon our application for full accreditation,” said Chancellor Michael Farris, who founded the college in 2000.
The accrediting agency, which has also recognized Bob Jones University and the Rev. Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, is approved as a national accrediting body for Christian colleges, universities and seminaries by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
Graham Walker, the college’s president, said the school did not seek accreditation so it could qualify for federal funding. The school wanted instead “to submit itself to peer review and professional accountability,” he said in a statement.
The accreditation status lasts five years and the college must provide progress reports periodically.
Last spring, five faculty members left the school after charging that their academic freedom was violated. Farris said two professors have announced plans to resign at the end of this school year for similar reasons.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Murder in Turkey Roils Germany’s Turkish Community
BERLIN (RNS) During a presentation on Islam at Berlin’s Heinrich-Heine School on Thursday (April 19), the teacher asked Islamic speakers about the Christian booksellers who were murdered in Turkey the day before.
“Is that right?” asked the teacher, Gabriele Rees. “Is that a way to be a Muslim?”
The question sparked uncomfortable silence, while the students, the vast majority of whom were Muslims from Turkey, waited for an answer.
The German apprehension over the expanding Muslim population, the rise of political Islam and the war in Iraq leave many Turks living in Germany feeling maligned. The slayings of the Christian booksellers in Turkey came as one more crisis for an already embattled community.
The Turkish community in Berlin _ the largest Turkish diaspora in the world _ also said the recent event dampens their belief in a Turkey that can guarantee religious freedom to everyone.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrat Party _ which opposes Turkey’s bid for membership in the European Union _ said the attacks illustrated Turkey’s shortcomings in ensuring religious freedom.
Islam is the largest minority religion in Germany. About 3 million immigrants _ roughly 2.5 million of whom are Turkish _ live in Germany. Turks remain the largest ethnic group in Germany.
The three victims in the Wednesday (April 18) attack _ a German man and two Turks who converted to Christianity _ were found with throats slit. Turkish police have detained five men.
_ Sheila B. Lalwani
Will Ethics Courses Spell the End of Religious Education in Berlin?
BERLIN (RNS) Court backing for mandatory ethics courses in Berlin’s public schools could spell the end of religious instruction, according to religious officials.
The German Constitutional Court’s Thursday (April 19) decision rejected arguments that mandating students to take ethics classes restricts religious freedom by essentially eliminating time for religious classes, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Frankfurt General Newspaper).
Until recently, all students in Berlin’s schools were required to take religion classes. Students who do not belong to a church were required to take ethics classes. Religion courses were taught by instructors licensed by the various faiths. Students were divided into the courses by their church affiliation.
However, a series of killings in Berlin _ especially one in which a father convinced his sons to kill their sister for dishonoring the family _ convinced educators that all Berlin students needed an intensive ethics class.
Germany’s churches were disappointed by the ruling from the country’s highest court but did not seem surprised. Spokesmen for both the Catholic and Protestant churches said their churches had opted not to file lawsuits against the ethics class because they had little hope they could change the school policy.
_ Niels Sorrells
Quote of the Day: The Catholic Bishops of Korea
(RNS) “We are particularly pained, as Koreans ourselves, to learn that this incomprehensible, dreadful act of violence was committed by a Korean student. But we sincerely hope also that this tragedy does not generate new prejudice or violence among people, but rather be an occasion for all of us today to reflect anew on the suffering of our neighbors.”
_ A letter from the Catholic Bishops of Korea to Bishop William S. Skylstad, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (April 20)
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