“And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself’.” – Luke 10:27
This verse succinctly captures the essence of a true Christian classical liberal arts education. Education is not merely a means to a career and personal gain, but is the formation of the whole person in the love of God and the service of the common good, cultivated through wisdom and virtue. In other words, a Christian liberal arts education begins in wonder of the created order, leads to worship of the triune God, cultivates wisdom for life and virtue for the soul, and equips students for meaningful work that benefits family, church, and community.
The following guiding principles encapsulate the content and pedagogy of Charlemagne College.
Humane
Education must begin with a proper understanding of humanity—our nature and ends. We are, first and foremost, image-bearers of God, created to reflect His goodness and creativity in the world (Gen. 1:26–31). As the Westminster Shorter Catechism affirms, “The chief end of man is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” At Charlemagne, we form true humans, which are irreplaceable by AI.
Classical
While modern education shifts with the winds of psychological research and ideological trends, classical education is grounded in the enduring tradition of the seven liberal arts: the Trivium (Grammar, Logic/Dialectic, Rhetoric) and the Quadrivium (Geometry, Arithmetic, Music, Astronomy). These arts order the mind and soul toward truth, goodness, and beauty, equipping students to live as wise stewards and virtuous citizens in every sphere of life.
Christian
God is the True, the Good, and the Beautiful. Christ is the Logos—the Word through whom the cosmos was made and is continually upheld. This is God’s world, and therefore an education about this world and how to live wisely in it must look to the One who made it, ordered it, and continually upholds it. At Charlemagne, we do not simply tack on the Bible to call it “Christian;” we incorporate the Christian faith in all that we do, with the aim of being well formed imitators of Christ. This is evidenced with the incorporation of courses in Bible and theology, as well as the utilization of Scripture in discussions throughout the program.
Socratic
While lectures are certainly an aspect of Charlemagne pedagogy, courses are primarily taught through shared inquiry and Socratic dialogue. Shared inquiry, developed by the Great Books Foundation, encourages students to explore open-ended questions and support their interpretations with textual evidence, with the professor as guide. Socratic dialogue builds on this foundation, pressing students to define terms, examine assumptions, and consider implications. This method moves discussions from what a text might mean to whether interpretations are coherent and truthful, fostering logical thinking and a love of wisdom.
Beautiful
Much of modern education is, frankly, ugly—in its ideas, content, and spaces. Socrates was right when he said, “The object of education is to teach us to love what is beautiful” (Republic 403c). Our students will learn about the beautiful works of art and literature of Western civilization, developing a desire to preserve, promote, and produce this heritage of beauty.