In the decline of the secular university c john sommerville explores several different ways in which the secular university fails in its mission through its trivialization of religion he notes how little attention is being given to defining the human so crucial in all aspects of professional education he alerts us to problems associated with the prevailing secular distinction between . The decline of the secular university may 2007 journal of college and character 84 doi 102202 1940 16391607 authors donald a crosby request full text pdf to read the full text of this . In the decline of the secular university c john sommerville explores several different ways in which the secular university fails in its mission through its trivialization of religion he notes how little attention is being given to defining the human so crucial in all aspects of professional education he alerts us to problems associated with the prevailing secular distinction between facts and values he reviews how the elimination of religion hampers the university from . The american university has embraced a thorough secularism that makes it increasingly marginal in a society that is characterized by high levels of religious belief the very secularization that was supposed to be a liberating influence has resulted in the universitys failure to provide leadership in political cultural social and even scientific arenasin the decline of the secular