Christian*

A reading of the articles in this issue, beyond the titles, indicates the use of the descriptor Christian in several of the topics from course outcomes, identity and student success, campus climate, curriculum, and more. The articles exist side-by-side, peaceably, in this issue, though I feel quite certain that what it means to be Christian varies in important ways across at least some of the authors. And, of course, there are other interpretations not even represented here. In North America seventy-six percent of the U.S. population identifies as Christian; in Canada it is sixty-seven percent and Mexico ninety-two percent. The United Kingdom is at fifty-nine percent with Germany and France at seventy and sixty-three respectively. Worldwide, eighty-four percent of the population claims some kind of faith with one-third of that being Christian. It should go without saying that not all two billion Christians are singing from the same hymnal. We make much of the idea of education about religion—to be knowledgeable about various traditions and what they mean for people’s lives, and for religion—ways to educate within particular traditions. I see, however, very little education, done in an even-handed way, about variations in what it can mean to be Christian. We know that in the first few centuries there were contests between multiple Christianities that were settled as most power struggles are—with one party establishing dominance. From these years on, and for more than a millennium, violence and cruelty characterized these contests. I argue that it is only the evolution of law and its increasing acceptance as a social rule that has (somewhat) reined in violence in favor of peaceful argument and negotiation. Still, there is misunderstanding, at best, and ignorance, more the case, as to what it can mean to be Christian. Those who claim to be progressive Christians do not want to be associated with those whom they would call ‘‘far right’’ due to what they perceive to be errant readings or use of the Bible. Similarly, those who identify as conservative Christians dismiss other