Live Q&As

maybe you should ask him to look into the history of effective mufflers and common courtesy? ;o) Yes, you should bring it up to the proper folks on campus and ask them to deal with it, if he won't listen to you privately.

Thanks for sharing your experiences! It is tough for college students to make time for a lot of things in college (including sleep) -- but sometimes all they need is an invitation from a friend or even, in your case, the president.

Nearly every campus I've visited or dealt with in my research had incredible resources for service either in an ongoing, local way or through more intensive service programs "alternative spring breaks" that take students to areas hard hit by poverty or natural disasters etc. I've visited relatively small schools (5000 students) who have close to 1000 undergrads volunteering to go on week-long service trips during the year and even several week trips. The ones I've dealt with are generally done through some campus ministry program--though not exclusively. My sense is that for this generation, beyond dogma, doctrine etc...service is a language they understand, and though they might not think of it explicitly it is a religious/spiritual moment for them. The best programs usually incorporate an element of reflection to the service, so students can process their experiences through a broader lens of their own lives/values. These can often be incredibly powerful experiences.

I'd also add that the model of Eboo Patel's Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) is to unite diverse faith groups on campus around a single service project, such as Habitat for Humanity. Once these religious groups have worked together for a social action project, IFYC's Dan Pawlus told me, interfaith dialog happens 'organically.'

I've encountered the same answer as well. In our research it became pretty clear that it's not that college necessarily makes them un-religious as much as it's the first time most of these young people are on their own and able to make decisions independent of their parents. I think the more appropriate term for them is "seekers." They are able to begin asking questions on their own...some of them are small issues like 'How should I deal with a bad roommate?' others are much bigger 'Who am I? What should I do with my life?' Fortunately I've found colleges across the country have trememdous resources to help with those big questions, whether it's counseling services or campus ministers etc. One of the guiding principles in writing our Freshman Survival Guide was letting students know the enormous options available on campus on all of these levels. 

Absolutely. I attended Georgetown and had friends who would watch the broadcasts of local services via webcast when they were not able to make it to church. In terms of spirituality online more generally, increasingly people are finding their favorite pastor, blogger or inspirational writer online. It's easier than ever to find resources tailored to your specific belief system, but it seems to me the downside is two fold: your 'community' exists online, and it's easier to ignore people that disagree with you. So there is lost opportunity for human-to-human exchange there.

Liz makes a great point. The web is an incredible tool and has done enormous good. It helps people form a community of a certain kind--shared interests, backgrounds etc--but I think peoples' faith journeys are ultimately best nourished by the physical community, the act of gathering with those who may be different etc if that's at all possible. That said, I have a friend who is an "Abbess" in an online monastery that tweets the daily prayers to a few hundred people.

Unfortunatley that's a common problem I've heard from religiously observant students from across the faith spectrum. While campuses often see themselves as bastions of openness, sometimes that openness doesn't extend to people of faith. I've found that trying to argue faith can be like trying to argue about your own skin...it's yours, it's personal, it's a part of you. I would argue that it's important to find people/community on campus who don't judge you as stupid because of your faith. They exist on nearly every campus I know of...hang in there.

Most professors will try to accomodate religous commitments etc, my advice would be to speak privately to the prof during office hours or at least send an email explaining the reason for your absence and ask if there's anyway you can make up necessary workload etc

That was a great story Jenna...I think the single most surprising thing people mentioned to me that they found in our book is that when we discussed the topic of homosexuality and sexual identity with campus ministers from every major faith tradition, how they ALL spoke in harmony on the topic. These folks are dealing with the reality of students coming out all the time with on campus and the ones we spoke to all spoke about being compassionate and concerned for students' well being. They all spoke very pastorally about the topic and sounded like people that a student struggling with these issues could go and talk to and feel accepted and understood. That said, sadly I'm sure this isn't necessarily more the experience everywhere. More evangelical Christian groups wouldn't participate in our research for the book and the Times' article makes it clear that there are still issues. I think it's probably important for gay students to be careful about who they open up to and make sure if they feel overly judged etc that they go elsewhere for help from someone who is willing to accept them.

This unfortunately happens with some real pressure groups who take advantage of students and alienate them from their friends, family etc...we discuss it on our book a little but we also have an online story here.

that talks about how to spot a cult or pressure group. I'm sorry to hear that she's having this issue...sadly it isn't uncommon. Is she still in relationship at all with her family?

I'm a Georgetown grad as well and they've been very forward thinking for decades about having diverse religious voices on campus--one of the Imam's I interviewed for the Freshman Survival Guide was from Georgetown's campus ministry. I think most schools of a few thousand students or so offer access to leaders from different faith traditions. Many of them see it as a sign of the strength of their own mission--Catholic, Christian, Jewish etc--not as a watering down.

hahaha -- very funny, Rev Dave. Your "church" reminds me of a "religious community" that a group of guys at Georgetown created a few years ago so they could all live in a $2.4 million house without breaking D.C. zoning laws that limit the number of unrelated people who can live under one roof. The name of their nonprofit religious organization? The Apostles of O'Neill.

As far as religious schools not encouraging students to participate in services, I haven't seen any evidence of that. I have been on the campuses of Georgetown and Boston College a few times -- I frequently see posters advertising campus ministry events and hear students talking about their "favorite Jesuits."

But others out there might have more information? I would love to hear your thoughts...

Thanks for the suggestion. This is a model that I have found to be increasingly popular with interfaith organizations. Tony Blair's Faith Foundation launched a program a few years ago called Faith Acts, where fellows from across religious traditions worked together on anti-Malaria initiatives. It's an fascinating model to look at and I'd be interested to read research on how engagement with those of another faith through a service project impacts one's beliefs.

Good point. Yes, I'm aware that Orthodox Christian churches are not Roman or protestant. I've spoken to Orthodox priests for other projects, but was not able to track any down that were specifically Orthodox campus  ministries. It's a fair point I will try to address in the next addition. Thanks for saying it.

You may want to take a look at some of the work of Greg Epstein, Humanist chaplain at Harvard University. Epstein is proof that there is spirituality beyond religion, perhaps even beyond belief in God.  One example of this is his work to get campus secularists/humanists/atheists/agnostics to unite around the values that they find 'sacred' --care for other humans, practicing secular meditation, 'celebrating science and critical inquiry.' Read more about humanism on campus here. 

Interesting...I'm not sure I believe in agnostics though, I need more proof...

;o)

That's a joke btw...

Good point. It's good to hear you at least feel welcom. Sometimes a little background is helpful though. We published this "Overly simplistic and all-too-brief guide to world religions".

It might help you get started. But I've found that a lot of religious groups are more than willing to share who they are if you ask.

I think/hope we're moving into a new paradigm where people are more connected than ever before and are therefore forced to see complexity in the world, in people, in faith experiences etc that they previously might have been able to ignore. Fitzgerald's quote beautifully sums up this notion for me well. Can I handle ideas that may appear to be in conflict and continue to function. I think it's important for young college kids to understand that is one of the challenges as we grow up/get older.

Yes it is, and it's happening a lot on campuses in the US. I was just corresponding with the head of Kansas State's interfaith alliance that deals with all the campus ministries and they clearly are working to share resources, events, promote understanding etc. The study that UCLA did through the Institute for Higher Education Research published the results from a seven-year study of spirituality and higher education and it completely validated everything we’d been talking about in our book. Students need to explore this multifaith dialogue. It's simply a reality in the world they're entering. Check out the UCLA Study here

That's great to hear! I am sure that most professors -- given a proper heads-up -- will make such accommodations. The key is not waiting until the last minute.

But Jenna, talking about religion and politics is what we do at On Faith! And yes, it can be very sensitive, but that's because religion is so central to so many people's lives. Like other groups, organizations or cliques on campus, religious students often congregate through Bible study, shabbat services or weekly mass.  Bill can speak to this as well, but since so many students do come to campus with religious backgrounds, finding a home in a religious community can be one way of connecting to their past or their family's traditions, which can be especially important when you are far away from home.
Religion informs our world in so many ways (one only look at the headlines on any given day to see how these conflicts manifest themselves). Perhaps that is why a 2005 study found an increase in religion majors after 9/11 --I count myself among this group. In order to understand world events, students and universities are finding they need to have a basic understanding of religion. This can be more of an objective study of religion rather than faith-sharing, but is an important part of religious exchange on campus.

Hey wait is Liz plugging another Post blog on our Q&A!!?!? No fair! ;)

Seriously though Liz is right. Students often come from religous households and--as the UCLA study I plugged earlier says: they may become less religious but their spirituality grows. That's fertile ground to talk about the big questions that major religous traditions all try to address. My hope is that students see these places as resources and not simply extensions of their parents' view of God, faith etc.

Passing along these thoughts from a reader...

Yes, I think there are many young people out there who weren't raised in any particular tradition who are grabbing whatever seems relevant to their lives. Some of the devotional practices I would include in that. Older generations might have abandoned them but some younger people look at those practices and don't associate it with the same baggage older generations do, so they pick it up for themselves,