Laurence R. Veysey's The Emergence of the American University--one of the densely textured, lucidly written, always thoughtful accounts of the history of higher education?has been largely superseded, especially after the 1980s, in part by histories that unlike Veysey's, maintain close attention to religion, both during the period that he focused upon and beyond it up to at least the period during which he wrote his book (1960s). Even so, both in its details and in its overall design, The Emergence of the American University has proven to be remarkably durable. In this paper, the author examines religion and higher education in the twenty-first century and contends that Veysey's book can still be profitably used to consider what positive role, if any, religion might play in strengthening the character of higher education in the United States today. (Contains 15 notes.)