Religion in Higher Education

The Politics of the Multi-Faith Campus

Sophie Gilliat-Ray

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781138728448
• eBook ISBN: 9781351749268
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

This title was first published in 2000. The place of religion in universities and institutes of higher education has become increasingly topical and contested in recent years, largely due to the growth of religious diversity on campus. Issues such as shared worship spaces, equal opportunities, and the management of inter-religious conflict, concern university administrators and students alike. Based on primary empirical research, this book indicates the need for clear guidelines on these issues and provides the data to inform policy-making. Offering the first study of the practical and sociological implications of the multi-faith campus, this book provides a context for examining some of the dynamics of religious diversity in Britain more generally as well as providing a useful analysis for the wider international context. Key themes covered include: religion in institutions; inter-faith relations; the changing roles of religious professionals; secularisation and resacralisation; and religion, youth and identity.

Chapter 1
Introduction

Contemporary issues in religion and higher education

It is rare for higher education and religion in Britain's universities to constitute the leading items on Radio 4's prime time evening news on the same day. But on the 12^th May 1999, the determination of the non-Labour parties to abolish tuition fees in Scottish Universities was being hotly debated on the first day of the new Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. Further south, a chaplain from Cambridge University was being criticised by some and applauded by others for using 'God' as part of his e-mail address, in an effort to make the chaplaincy more accessible to students.¹

Issues of religion in higher education hit the headlines in this way very rarely: more usually the religious and spiritual lives of academic staff and students go unnoticed, even within the universities themselves. The outbreak of disturbances between different religious groups on campuses does occasionally, however, subvert the normal lack of interest. There are two extremes here: on the one hand, a generalised apathy towards the religious identities contained within universities, and on the other, individual attempts by chaplains, and a determination by extremists from some religious groups, to become more visible. Between these extremes, there lies a more serious debate about the way in which institutions of higher education have responded to the increasing religious diversity of their populations. This is an issue that a variety of academic and student organisations have recently begun to take up, continuing a longer-standing debate within Church circles about the place of religion in universities. This debate is by no means confined to British universities either, and the question of how universities and chaplaincies in higher education can meet the religious and spiritual needs of students from different faith backgrounds is now high on the agenda in a number of other countries (Blundell 1999).

This book addresses a variety of issues, such as how institutional policies that have been adopted or are in development relate to student religious identity and cover such matters as respectful interaction between religious groups. Others include the provision of worship facilities, how religious dietary needs are accommodated, and timetabling which takes account of religious festivals. An important question that this book considers is the way in which chaplaincy arrangements have been developed in multi-faith contexts, and how pastoral care has been provided for students of different faiths. An additional area for exploration is how faith communities have developed national structures to meet the religious needs of their student members.

The information gathered about these practical issues not only enables patterns of provision to be identifiable, but also provides the basis for a much wider questioning of the place of religion in higher education, and religious diversity and institutional change more generally.² For example, to what extent do universities and colleges have a responsibility for the spiritual and religious welfare of students and staff, and how far should they go, if at all, to meet the needs of different groups? Does the responsibility for the religious welfare of students lie solely with religious communities? The importance of spiritual beliefs and practices to religious groups often contests the 'secular' foundations and assumptions of many institutions, while the specifically Christian foundations of some universities (particularly 'Church colleges') in Britain are challenged by the growth of religious diversity. An examination of religious issues in higher education also serves as a context for exploring questions about the religious identity of a new generation of young people in Britain today from a diversity of traditions. For instance, I have been especially interested in how young British Muslims have structured their participation in higher education.³

In recent decades, and particularly in the past ten years, religion in universities has only tended to capture public attention when it has been regarded as problematic. Some new religious movements have from time to time caused public consternation through their capacity to prey on more vulnerable students. Heated and occasionally violent confrontation between extremists from different religious groups has more than once led to the temporary and often media-saturated closure of institutions (Bora 1994:7). All this points to a serious question about the extent to which universities in Britain should regulate and control the religious activity of students and of outside religious organisations that recruit on campuses. Where does the responsibility of institutions begin and end?

In many ways, the issues and trends surrounding religion in universities mirror in microcosm similar questions about religion in Britain more generally. For example, as membership of and frequent attendance at many traditional Christian places of worship has declined in Britain, there has been a steady increase in religious activity in other places of worship, such as mosques, temples, and some charismatic churches.

In the briefest of summaries, I would describe the major trends of the religious life of the British in the post-war period as a decline in popular involvement in the main Christian churches, a corresponding and related decline in the popularity of religious beliefs outside the churches, a small shift to the "right" in Protestantism, an increase in the popularity of non-Christian religions (explained largely by the arrival of significant bodies of immigrants), and a small but very interesting increase in the popularity and respectability of what were once deviant supernatural beliefs and practices (Bruce 1995:30).⁴

I would also add that members of many of Britain's other faith communities have become more articulate about their wish to participate in public life on their own terms — as religious minorities — and to have their interests adequately represented. A good example of this is to be found in recent and on-going campaigns by faith communities for the inclusion of a religious question in the 2001 Census, in order that the religious variable in discrimination and inequalities may be more clearly identifiable (Kundnani 1999).⁵ Religion in public life generally, and, I would argue, in many universities more particularly, is 'leaving its assigned place in the private sphere [and has] thrust itself into the public arena of moral and political contestation' (Casanova 1994:3).

As we shall see, many of the wider patterns of religious change and activity in Britain are mirrored by a trend in higher education. The growth of religious activity among students of other faiths and the wish for a range of religious identities to be recognised by the institution is evident nationally and on a number of campuses.⁶ So too is the decline in the number of students claiming a mainstream 'traditional' Christian affiliation (Kingston 1994; Worrall 1988), while the popularity of evangelical and Christian Union (CU) activities remains strong in many universities⁷ (Worrall 1988). Religious life within universities is subject to the same patterns of change and increasing personal 'consumer' choice that are evident outside the boundaries of the institution.

Many of the issues surrounding religion in higher education also parallel current debates about religion in other public institutions, such as prisons and hospitals. For example, to what extent can (or should) institutional chaplaincies founded upon Christian principles accommodate religious professionals and advisers from other religious traditions (Forest Health 1993:3)? How are the roles of religious leaders, regardless of faith or denomination, changing in the face of increasing religious diversity? These questions are particularly pertinent in the case of universities (as well as hospitals) as institutions historically founded upon the traditions of the Christian church.

Research has already been carried out to examine how some public institutions in Britain have adapted to the new plurality of faiths in their midst. Examples of such research are examinations of the way local authorities have responded to Muslim needs (Nielsen 1992; Joly 1995), and the extent of religious provision for members of other faiths in prisons (Beckford and Gilliat 1998). This book takes particular account of the perspectives of chaplains in higher education, as the individuals to whom institutions and students tend to turn regarding religious issues. It also considers the perspectives of the organisations — religious, student-run, and academic — that are concerned with religion in universities. In describing how educational institutions are 'managing' religious diversity and responding to change, the study points to insights which have relevance to other kinds of public institution, both in terms of challenges and good practice. There are many manual-like books that offer prescriptions for how the practical needs of different faith groups should ideally be met in public institutions (see for example Sampson 1982). But few studies exist which explore in detail the wider consequences of, and implications posed by the multi-faith nature of public institutions, especially in a so-called 'secular' society.

All this amounts to an argument that religion in higher education throws up a number of wider practical and theoretical issues of interest to those with an interest in religion in contemporary Britain. A study of religion in a specific context, namely universities, and an examination of the way in which religion 'fits' into the life of British universities casts a new light on matters of secularisation, religious diversity, and religion in the public sphere.⁸

Over recent decades, there has been a tendency to approach the question of religion in higher education from the perspective of race and ethnicity (e.g. Acland and Modood 1998). However, the case for exploring the issues squarely from a religious dimension is particularly valid in the light of the fact that ethnic and religious minorities themselves often regard their religious identity as one of the most significant markers of self-definition. Reflecting on the strength of feeling in the Muslim community after the Rushdie affair, Paul Weller noted that

by insisting that they do not want to be dealt with as an "ethnic minority group" or in terms of "race relations" considerations, and in demanding recognition primarily as a faith community, Muslims are posing fundamental questions to British society. In a cultural milieu where ethnicity, nationality, class, and fashion have been seen as the major determining factors of individual and corporate identity, for a group to define itself primarily in terms of religious identity represents a major break with the prevailing social ethos (Weller 1990:4).

There is evidence among the other religious communities in Britain, such as Hindus and Sikhs, that religion is similarly important for them as the basis of identity (Gerd Baumann 1996;Nesbitt 1998).

Martin Baumann's general observation of the way religion is sidelined in most policy and academic discussions is as applicable to higher education, as to many other arenas of debate.

Most discussions about multiculturalism focus on "ethnicity". As a side effect, the recognition of religion and religious identity is marginalized or not considered, yet research shows that religion "still" plays a significant role in groups' relations among each other and the society at large (Baumann 1999:1).

There is some evidence that the significance of religious identity is starting to be recognised, generally, as well as specifically in relation to British universities. In Race and Higher Education (Acland and Modood 1998), it was clear that the debate is beginning to take a new direction. Whilst issues of access to higher education for ethnic minority groups remain important, several contributors to that volume pointed out that more attention now needs to be paid to the quality of experience that members of ethnic minority groups have whilst at university.

We need to know people's expectations of [higher education]...and the appropriateness of support services, counselling, careers guidance, religious provision.... (Acland and Azmi 1998:75, emphasis added).

The discussion can be taken further forward by beginning to answer such questions specifically in relation to religion and religious identity, and this is what I have set out to do in this book. I am especially mindful of the very real differences in the quality of student experience reported by graduates of different backgrounds. 'White students report having enjoyed their time at university and having received much easier access to academic and pastoral support compared to the experiences of ethnic minority students' (Acland and Modood 1998:169, emphasis added). My research uncovered numerous examples of structural discrimination against students from other faiths in some universities, limiting their access to pastoral and religious support.

One of the issues that is highlighted by this investigation of the willingness and the ability of universities to recognise the religious diversity of the student population is their capacity to manage change, and especially change wrought by religious diversity. My research has shown that

• Some universities have seen their changing constituency as a business opportunity, and diversity has provided scope for an expanded vision of their purpose and ability to recruit students.
• Discord is often expensive, directly (in terms of time and personnel needed to solve conflict) and indirectly, through the implications of a damaged reputation. Inter-religious conflict, and the regulation of religion on university campuses, has put some institutions' mechanisms of conflict and risk-management in the spotlight.
• The changing religious composition of universities has provided a challenge to the institutional identity of many universities. Some have deliberately marked themselves out as 'modern' in terms of their willingness to accommodate different religious groups and they have deliberately cultivated a new self-definition of themselves as part of a multicultural, multi-faith society.
• Conversely, some traditional universities have shown a marked complacency about provision for different faiths, and an unwillingness to break from the institutional traditions that characterised their foundation in the 19^th century, or earlier.
• Finally, increasing numbers of students have led to a corresponding increase in the number of administrative staff required to manage the corporate life of institutions. The discussion of equal opportunities policies in Chapter 6 therefore becomes also an investigation of institutional efficiency. For some universities, comprehensive policies about religious issues embracing staff and students are regarded as part of a constellation of policies governing institutional life where up-to-date and ordered systems of management are perceived to be de rigueur.

This book is therefore not only a study of religious dynamics in universities, but it is also an examination of the relationship between religion and higher education. The permutations of the relationship are varied; hostile, accommodating, indifferent, or embracing. But one of the conclusions that becomes evident is that most universities are far from being wholly 'secular' institutions. Even those founded without any reference to religion and which clearly and explicitly emphasise a 'secular' approach to university matters, still do so from a standpoint that is far from neutral on the place of religion in the institution.

To evaluate much of the data presented in this book about religion and higher education, a few basic points about the sociology of organisations and institutions in general may be helpful. To begin with, universities can be regarded as organisations in that they bring people together for the same shared purpose and objective: in this case, for academic scholarship and instruction. As institutions they involve more than just the people within them, but also the taken-for-granted and accepted procedures and norms that govern social life in a university. They are social entities, with distinct (though permeable) boundaries between who is 'in' and who is 'out'; there are distinctive criteria for identifying and recruiting members. Despite many shared objectives and the unifying raison d'etre of teaching and research, as organisations they require management, and a range of individuals to co-ordinate, control and structure roles and activities. Hence, univ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Tables
• List of Appendices
• List of Abbreviations
• Preface
• Dedication
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Religion in Higher Education in Britain Since 1945
• 3. University Faith Communities: Diversity, Identity and Rights
• 4. Chaplaincies: Organisation, Funding and Staffing
• 5. Meeting Student Needs
• 6. Religion and the Corporate Life of Universities: Equal Opportunities?
• 7. Student Voices
• 8. Religion in Higher Education and Public Life: Some Conclusions
• Appendices
• References
• Index