Should Christians Attend Secular Universities? W/ Dr. Karen Swallow Prior

Should Christians Attend Secular Universities? W/ Dr. Karen Swallow Prior

From The Well-Trained Mind podcast by Susan Wise Bauer & Susanna Jarrett

March 25, 2026 · 57 min · Season 5 · Episode 4

About this episode

The episode discusses the considerations for Christians when selecting secular universities, featuring insights from Dr. Karen Swallow Prior.

In this episode, Susan Wise Bauer and Susanna Jarrett are joined by Karen Swallow Prior to discuss selecting university education, particularly for Christians homeschool graduates. Dr. Prior’s substack Dr. Prior’s website You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the True, Good, and Beautiful by Karen Swallow Prior The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis by Karen Swallow Prior (00:00) - Intro with Dr. Karen Swallow Prior (00:35) - The purpose of this conversation (02:47) - Susan and Karen's backgrounds (05:48) - Personal experiences (12:34) - How to evaluate universities with your student (17:26) - Differences between secondary and university Christian roles (20:48) - Education being "safe" (25:06) - The four-year degree and the readiness of a student (27:29) - The college litmus test (29:54) - Break (30:55) - The fear of indoctrination (44:54) - How to ensure a vigorous education (49:16) - "The search for truth" as a basis for education (51:13) - Looping back around to Karen's tenure as a principal (53:13) - Going back to teaching at an institution? (54:42) - What Karen's up to now (56:18) - Outro

People in this episode

Hosts: Susan Wise Bauer, Susanna Jarrett

Guest: Karen Swallow Prior

Topics covered

  • Christian education
  • secular universities
  • homeschool graduates
  • university selection
  • indoctrination
  • truth in education

Keywords

  • Christian universities
  • education
  • homeschooling
  • university evaluation
  • indoctrination fears
  • truth in education

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the True, Good, and Beautiful, The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis

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