For millions of Americans, and billions worldwide, spirituality is a regular and essential part of their experience. Many Muslims pray five times daily; Hindus use yantras (spiritually significant geometric designs of varying complexity) in both rituals and personal practice; and one of the most important religious ceremonies of many Plains Indian Tribes (including the Shoshone, Pawnee, and Ute peoples) is the Sun Dance.
But many say they don’t feel comfortable discussing or sharing their faith lives in public. This can leave some individuals feeling incomplete—like they have to ignore an important part of their lives in certain spaces, or at least leave it at the door. A recent longitudinal study involving students on 122 college campuses across the US found that a majority of college students express the need for more connection/belonging on campus. 85% say colleges should provide welcoming environment for diverse religious perspectives—and 71% say opportunities to get to know “students of diverse religious and nonreligious perspectives” are important or very important to them in college.
The chance to meet, share, connect, and learn from others from diverse spiritual perspectives is vitally important to a religiously pluralistic country like the United States, says Eboo Patel, founder and President of Interfaith America (IA). With more than 20 years of experience working to promote collaboration, understanding, and cooperation across secular and diverse faith communities on +640 campuses across the country, Interfaith America is the recognized leader in this work. Even individuals who do not subscribe to a specific faith practice can have spiritual customs or routines that help them to feel more connected. Some choose a physical practice, like meditation, yoga, or even running, while others like to commune with nature, visiting the mountains, desert, or ocean.
In partnership with the Interfaith America organization, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion will serve as the hub over the next two years for the Interfaith Initiative at the U. Working with Patel, the university’s Interfaith Impact Scholar, EDI will connect with several key areas across campus (e.g., Academics, Athletics, Health Sciences, and others) to ensure the entire university is being engaged.
Over the next few months, IA representatives will visit the Utah campus several times to help advance this work. They will support the university in a campus-wide assessment of religious practices, values, identities, and needs in order to better understand where we are as a community. Next month, representatives from IA will visit campus to meet with different groups individually and discuss religious pluralism and the need for interfaith dialogue. And in January, Patel will be on campus to lead several large campus events aimed and bringing this work to the entire campus and community and promoting engagement.
“There are perhaps millions of ways to maintain a spiritually connected life—and though some may involve a deity or pantheon of divine beings, or a specific place of worship, or precise doctrine, none of these is absolutely required,” says Mary Ann Villarreal, vice president for Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (EDI). She says the most important quality is how the practice feeds the individual’s own spiritual need. “Belief is highly personal—we just want people to feel comfortable coming together and sharing, being their authentic selves and learning about the people in their community.”
Villarreal notes that these sorts of interfaith conversations and discussions are needed now more than ever. “It isn’t just the elevated tension between groups, it’s also what people are saying they want and need.” To learn more about Interfaith America president, Eboo Patel, see the announcement of his appointment as University of Utah Impact Scholar or visit EDI’s Interfaith Initiative page.
