<p>It’s “Methodist-related,” not “Methodist-affiliated.” The Methodist Church has no governance and Duke is not religious at all. It’s the same as Methodist-related schools like Northwestern, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, or the University of Southern California, which all have roots in the Methodist Church, but aren’t actively affiliated or governed by it. But certainly the founding of Duke and some governing principles at the onset where dictated by prominent Methodists, so Duke simply honors their history and their influence on the founding of the university. Duke certainly wouldn’t be the same institution it is today without these founders, but, yeah, it’s not actively religious or anything.</p>
<p>Here’s an article about it:
<a href=“http://library.duke.edu/uarchives/history/duke-umchh-basic.html[/url]”>http://library.duke.edu/uarchives/history/duke-umchh-basic.html</a></p>