Alyssa N. Bryant

Exploring Religious Pluralism in Higher Education: Non-Majority Religious Perspectives among Entering First-Year College Students

Although Christian perspectives persist within the majority mindset in the United States and continue to flourish1, the presence of countless other faith traditions renders this nation the most religiously diverse in the world2. The increasingly pluralistic American landscape is based in large part on non-European immigration patterns in the last half-century3. Williams4 points to the influx of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Muslims, and Christians from Pakistan and India as a result of changes to immigration laws in 1965. Eck5 notes the vast array of places – spanning Asia, Africa, South America, and the Middle East – from which followers of myriad traditions have come. American Judaism, too, has become more internally diverse as a result of immigration from overseas6. While acknowledging the impressive growth of non-Christian religions, Smith7 tempers exaggerated portrayals of their size in his assessment that these groups are still relatively small in number (under three percent of the population at large). Followers of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam represent half of the adherents of non-Judeo-Christian faiths, whereas the remaining half consists of a wide assortment of religious traditions8. Despite their low proportional representation, these groups are multiplying and their imprint on society is unmistakable.

The Effects of Involvement in Campus Religious Communities on College Student Adjustment and Development

This study examined the effects of involvement in campus-based religious organizations on first-year students’ adjustment and development. Longitudinal data derived from the 2001 Your First College Year (YFCY) survey suggest religious organizations attract conservative-leaning students with a history of religious engagement. Further, involvement in religious organizations during the first year of college does not preclude students becoming more culturally aware nor preclude students establishing emotionally beneficial friendship networks. Such involvement is associated with students becoming more spiritually confident and committed. Conversely, involvement in religious organizations bears little relationship to first-year academic success.

Assessing the gender climate of an evangelical student subculture in the United States

This study explored the gendered experiences of students belonging to an evangelical Christian religious community on a university campus in the United States. As some religious traditions harbour distinctive views on gender differences and roles, the study focused on community characteristics that pertained to beliefs about gender and the behaviours that emanated from those beliefs. The findings revealed that the community was defined by masculine norms, the endorsement of essential gender differences and separate roles for men and women with respect to leadership, modesty and dating/marriage. Suggestions for improving the conditions for women in religious groups and the broader college campus are discussed.

Evangelicals on Campus: An Exploration of Culture, Faith, and College Life:

Evangelical Christians have established a visible presence on college campuses across the country1 and are becoming increasingly respected as scholars in academe.2 Indicative of this, evangelical colleges are becoming more reputable, and the number of academically successful students attending these institutions is on the rise.3 Moreover, according to the Higher Education Research Institute, the attendance of “born again” Christian students at selective colleges and universities has grown since the mid 1980s.4 These factors lead to pertinent questions about who these students are in a holistic sense, how their identity as evangelicals impacts their college experience, and what their presence on campus means for higher education. Before addressing these issues, the next section provides a contextual backdrop for the study.

The Challenge and Promise of Pluralism: Dimensions of Spiritual Climate and Diversity at a Lutheran College

This qualitative case study sought to explicate relevant features of the spiritual climate at one liberal arts religious college and also highlight the diverse ways in which students, faculty, and staff identities shaped the experience of climate. The findings revealed that the spiritual climate of Lutheran College was a product of diverse and voluntary spiritual expressions, the struggle to balance the institutions denominational heritage with commitment to diversity, and community fragmentation brought on by conflicting ideologies. Moreover, minority narratives suggested that spiritual climate is not a singular, absolute reality, but is perceived and experienced in ways that depend on ones background, worldview, and minority/majority status.

The Developmental Pathways of Evangelical Christian Students

As an increasingly visible evangelical presence has taken shape in higher education, efforts to understand evangelical Christian students, their subculture, and the contribution they make to the pluralistic college environment are vital in promoting a healthy campus climate for students from multiple backgrounds and traditions. Recent studies of evangelical students and their on-campus religious organizations suggest that these students are “countercultural conservatives” who develop a complex assemblage of political and social perspectives and experience college life in a way that is at once resistant, acclimating, and engaging – depending on the context.1 Evangelical Christian students articulate the challenges they face in navigating “culturally incongruent” environments where antagonism is felt both in the classroom and beyond.2 Although Christians are the religious majority in the United States, and thereby enjoy privileges associated with their majority status, evangelical Christian students emphasize feelings of oppression and marginalization on campus – a paradox that Moran et al. refer to as “social status ambiguity.”3 To relieve the strain of perceived marginalization and the incongruous relationship between students’ religious identity and the college context, campus ministries serve as protective, reinforcing cultural enclaves for many evangelical Christians.4 In addition to providing students with an emotionallyand spiritually-nurturing respite5, these organizations are political entities that embrace clearly established values and mission, actively recruit members, mobilize students to evangelize, and offer diverse forms of meaningful involvement and learning opportunities.6 Beyond addressing the experiences of evangelical Christian students within campus religious organizations and the broader campus, the existing research alludes to the developmental and adjustment issues associated with this population. Moran described the “public identity work” of evangelical Christian students as involving both “identity revelation” and “identity authentication.”7 In revealing the invisible religious dimension of their social identity, students endeavored to both differentiate their religious selves

Evangelical Christian Students and the Path to Self-Authorship

This narrative study adopts the lens and language of Baxter Magoldas self-authorship framework to explore the faith development of four evangelical Christian students from their first year of college through their third year. The findings suggest several common elements in the students’ narratives—earnest questions about “what is true?”, the significant roles of family members and peers in the construction of perspectives on truth, and the centrality of various religious communities in propelling or encumbering self-authored faith development—along with some important distinctions. Implications for research, theory, and practice are discussed.

Assessing Contexts and Practices for Engaging Students' Spirituality

As the incoming contributing editor of the “Spirituality on Campus” column, Alyssa Bryant begins her editorship with a reflective essay on assessment of spiritual climates and initiatives on campus.

Understanding Women's Spirituality in the Context of a Progressive Campus-Based Catholic Community

The college experience provides students with an opportunity to explore and adopt new ways of perceiving themselves and the world around them. During these years, the spiritual commitments that students bring with them to college may be challenged by diverse curricular and peer influences,1 but nurtured by religious communities on campus.2 For college women in particular, spiritual meaning-making is complicated by biases that undermine female perspectives across numerous religious traditions. In developing a spiritual identity, women from orthodox religions face potential conflicts in terms of incorporating the beliefs instilled in them during childhood with ideologies (such as feminism) that they encounter after leaving home.3 The intent of this study was to present an in-depth perspective on the spiritual identities of Catholic women pursuing postsecondary education. Using qualitative data with an emphasis on personal narrative, my study explored how the many facets of the college experience, particularly involvement in a socially-progressive Catholic organization on campus, interacted with childhood religious beliefs and experiences to impact women’s faith trajectories and spiritual wholeness.

Finding Congruence, Finding Meaning: Value Intersections and Transforming Relationships among Faculty and Staff at a Religious College

This case study explored how faculty and staff derived meaning from their work within a religious college environment. The findings suggest that the meaning-making process was fostered by connection. Many staff and faculty found meaning in their work as they experienced correspondence between work and personal values, the mission and values of the institution, and/or global democratic values. Furthermore, transforming relationships that were personally affirming and enabled faculty and staff to make a difference and observe transformation in others’ lives were instrumental in providing a conduit for meaningful connection.