Lutheran Heritage
Established in 1842, Roanoke is the second oldest (Gettysburg College is the oldest) Lutheran-affiliated college in the United States and is associated with three synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; the Virginia Synod, the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod, and the West Virginia–Western Maryland Synod. The Virginia Synod is headquartered on the Roanoke campus (in Bittle Hall; the college's first library now occupied by the Bishop of the Virginia Synod).
Historically, the College has had a small Lutheran population. Roanoke's student population is composed of students from many other religious denominations. Approximately 20 religious groups are now represented in the student body with Roman Catholic being the most prevalent; Lutherans total less than 10% of the student body.
Roanoke has an active religious life program for students seeking that experience, however, religion is not prominent on the Roanoke campus; students are not required to attend religious services or to take classes in religion. Roanoke has an independent board of trustees and is not controlled by the church.
The dominant aspect of Roanoke's Lutheran heritage is the college's commitment to academic freedom. Martin Luther encouraged freedom from oppression along with freedom for learning and freedom for service in the community.
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Famous quotes containing the word heritage:
“It seems to me that upbringings have themes. The parents set the theme, either explicitly or implicitly, and the children pick it up, sometimes accurately and sometimes not so accurately.... The theme may be “Our family has a distinguished heritage that you must live up to” or “No matter what happens, we are fortunate to be together in this lovely corner of the earth” or “We have worked hard so that you can have the opportunities we didn’t have.””
—Calvin Trillin (20th century)