Critical Thinking on Christian Campuses

A friend of mine has a kid looking at colleges right now. He wants to find one where critical thinking is not only defended but actually encouraged. Those are two entirely different things.

It is ironic that critical thinking is vigorously defended and championed by most academic types yet they are the very ones who discourage its practice by their students. A mantra I hear from the players on my soccer team is "give the professors what they want to hear and you will be okay." Some of my seniors moan about the loss of the critical thinking skills they had when they came out of high school. These aren't dumb students either. I hear this from some of the brightest.

Perhaps the academic world breeds a level of insecurity that resists critical thinking. Are professors afraid of being challenged, or worse, being found wrong? Are their conclusions so far out on a limb that they feel a strong need to defend their arguments not by debate but by control? I suppose if your life's work is tied to a specific belief you do have a tendency to protect it at all costs.

This is not just my university either. It seems to be widespread in the academic world, at elast in Christian circles. So just where is the Christian college that encourages critical thinking? I'd like to know.