One University, Lots of Gods
Battell Chapel is one of the loveliest spaces at Yale University, but I remember that, as an undergraduate, I barely spent any time there. What went on inside the chapel seemed disconnected from the rest of Yale life. One reason was that the Sunday services there were organized by the United Church of Christ, formerly the Congregational Church, and were intended as much for the New Haven community as for Yale students, if not more. There was a logic to that, since Congregationalists founded Yale, but it certainly meant that the church's impact on the university community was diluted.
Now
Yale is ending its official affiliation with the United Church of Christ in order to make the church better reflect the religious diversity of Yale students. This is one of those moves that, while painful, makes a certain amount of sense. Yale is a place of diverse religiosity, and its chapel should reflect that.
It's also something that Larry Summers would very much like to do with Harvard's Memorial Chapel, according to people I've spoken with on both sides of the issue. But I suspect it won't be happening any time soon. This is a fight that Summers can't afford to pick right now....
