Secularisation in Christian higher education: A Reformed perspective from the works of BJ van der Walt

Abstract

The secularisation of Christian higher education institutions remains a significant challenge within contemporary higher education. Drawing on the works of B.J. van der Walt, this article investigates the factors contributing to the secularisation of Christian universities from a reformational perspective. The study employs a qualitative approach based on Van der Walt’s published corpus, relevant secondary literature, and semi-structured interviews conducted with Van der Walt during 2024. The article argues that secularisation should be understood not as a single event but as a gradual, cumulative process involving philosophical compromise, worldview fragmentation, and institutional adaptation. Through thematic analysis, the study identifies 12 recurring factors contributing to secularisation, organised within three interrelated levels: foundational philosophical and theological errors, worldview and epistemological deficiencies, and institutional and structural deviations. Particular attention is given to themes such as dualism, synthesis thinking, the loss of Scriptural authority, postmodern relativism, commodification of knowledge, and the erosion of Christian institutional identity. The study concludes that Van der Walt’s reformational framework offers an important analytical and normative perspective for understanding secularisation within Christian higher education. It further argues that Christian universities can preserve their identity only where faith, scholarship, and institutional life remain intentionally integrated under the authority of God’s revelation.