Why hasn't Christianity had more influence on major intellectual institutions?

"One reason Christianity has failed to exert much influence on the major intellectual institutions of America is that too many Christians hold their beliefs in an uninformed and precarious fashion. Instead of pursuing answers to the toughest questions an unbelieving world can marshal, they attempt to preserve certainty through ignorance and isolation, relying on platitudes rather than arguments."-Douglas Groothuis (Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith)

In short, a faith founded on unstable feelings and blind irrationality will not make much of an impact on the unbelieving world. Maybe that's also why this kind of faith has so little impact on the believing world too.

We can do better. I lay out a vision for how Christians can cultivate a thoughtful faith in chapter 5 of my latest book. You can learn more about it here.