"The godless college?" Response by Professor Áine Hyland to a paper by Professor Seán Freyne, School of Hebrew, Biblical and Theological Studies, TCD, 'That the university is incomplete without a School of Theology/Religious Studies'

Hyland, Áine

"The godless college?" Response by Professor Áine Hyland to a paper by Professor Seán Freyne, School of Hebrew, Biblical and Theological Studies, TCD, 'That the university is incomplete without a School of Theology/Religious Studies'

Files

Aine Hyland - The Godless College.pdf(7.51 MB)

Date

1995-02-11

Authors

Hyland, Áine

Abstract

On behalf of all of us here, I would like to congratulate and thank Professor Sean Freyne for an interesting and stimulating paper. Before responding to the paper I would like to make some brief comments on this morning's session by Professor Finlay Holmes; he gave us a fascinating insight into the presbyterian background and response to the setting up of the Queen's Colleges, especially Queen's College Belfast 150 years ago. He showed the majority of presbyterians accommodated themselves to the new situation created by the foundation of Queen's University Belfast and seized the opportunity to build a Theological college in close proximity to the Queen's College while also taking advantage of other courses provided within that college. In his response, Professor John A. Murphy referred to the difficulty encountered by the Reverend Webster of the Church of Ireland in Cork in the late nineteenth century when he attempted to get the use of rooms in Queen's College Cork for students who wished to avail of his religious services. The refusal of the college authorities seems to me to be in direct contravention of the 1845 Act where under section 14 it is specifically stated that "it shall be lawful for the president and professors or other governing body of each of the said colleges to assign lecture rooms within the precincts of such college, wholly or in part, for the use of such religious teachers as shall be recognised by such governing body ... ". Indeed I find it difficult to have any sympathy with the description "Godless Colleges" when we bear in mind another section of the 1845 Act regarding worship: "but this proviso shall not be deemed to prevent the making of regulations for securing the due attendance of the students for divine worship at such church or chapel as shall be approved by parents or guardians respectively". It is difficult to imagine attempting to implement that regulation with our present day students!

Keywords

Seán Freyne , Theology , Religious studies

Citation

Hyland, Á. (1995) '"The godless college?" Response by Professor Áine Hyland to a paper by Professor Seán Freyne, School of Hebrew, Biblical and Theological Studies, TCD, 'That the university is incomplete without a School of Theology/Religious Studies'', Conference organised by the Chaplaincy, University College Cork, as part of the UCC 150 Celebrations, 11 February, 1995.