The New York Times discusses the challenges to humanities programs, and those teaching religion, during a period where more practical vocations fare better in the employment marketplace. The drag on academic endowments has prompted Ivory Tower hiring freezes:

In the last three months at least two dozen colleges have canceled or postponed faculty searches in religion and philosophy, according to a job postings page on Wikihost.org . . .

“Although people in humanities have always lamented the state of the field, they have never felt quite as much of a panic that their field is becoming irrelevant,” said Andrew Delbanco, the director of American studies at Columbia University.