Middlebury: Town and College - Religious Influence

Middlebury: Town and College Religious Influence
Students and faculty also contributed to the religious life of the area. The strongest ties were with the Congregational Church. Thomas Merrill, the highly-regarded Congregationalist minister and a former tutor at the college, was an important member of the prudential committee, most of the students celebrated the Sabbath with Merrill's congregation, and, until 1936, the annual college commencement continued to be held at the church. Other non-Congregational town churches also reserved pews for students, and they and the townspeople prayed and sang together there. As one youth observed, the town's strikingly positive attitude toward Middlebury students developed, in part, because they were religious and behaved well⁶.
Although Middlebury maintained good relations with the Congregationalist clergy and depended on them to help raise funds and direct prospective students to college, it was also dependent on a wider base for community support. Its sectarian character and influence was partially muted both by necessities of institutional survival and the type of students who enrolled. Although the faculty may have inclined toward a more orthodox doctrinal purity, the college could not afford that luxury. Its denominational character and the impact of its orthodoxy on the student body should not be overestimated⁷. Along with their academic duties, the faculty were involved in the affairs of the Middlebury community - particularly in its religious life. Some went well beyond occasionally preaching on Sunday - which continued to be a tradition for Middlebury faculty. For instance, Professor Parker simultaneously held the posts of clerk, treasurer, deacon, Sunday school teacher, and member of the discipline committee for the congregational Church… the professors and their wives were also the backbone of the local temperance movement. Thus, the faculty made important contributions to community life and strengthened town-gown relations immensely⁸. Gradually, the involvement of the college with the town's religious life decreased. This is reflected in President Thomas' decision to end the hallowed tradition of compulsory student church attendance in the village and began to conduct a Sunday vespers service on campus⁹.