Religious Life Councils: An Untapped Opportunity for Higher Education Professionals

At almost any campus in the United States, the religious life professionals will lead you to a lesser known and often misunderstood round table of professionals, often known as religious life councils or multi-faith councils. These religious life councils, typically made up of the staff of religiously affiliated student groups, have been a challenging and convoluted part of higher education work for decades. But behind their complexity lies a possibility within higher education work.

To understand these councils, one must understand their composition and their unique internal tensions. Depending on which campus you find yourself on, you may find one council or sometimes two; in very rare findings three groups, though this is difficult to find.  Most of the time, you will either find a single group of religious professionals who live somewhat in tension with one another around issues of inclusion of women clergy, GLBTQIA identity’s, and thoughts on how to approach the campus and ‘win them over.’  On campuses where two groups exist one will almost always find that those groups are divided between progressive Christians alongside other religious traditions and the conservative Christians who are disengaged from the work of campus.

The first of these two groups is likely to be working heavily on university policy and practice work, engaging with the University administration, and advocating for accommodations for its students as well as access. The second group will tend to have little interest in the University and will instead focus on their student populations, often remaining distant from university administration. This often is based on the assumption that the university has little to no interest in their voice and their work on campus.

There are opportunities that come from these two groups many on a college campus fail to notice: a religious professional council engaged in campus will often serve as volunteers in supporting some of the most important work universities are struggling with engagement, vocational discernment, and  interfaith etiquette being among them (Jacobsen & Jacobsen, 2012).

Religious life councils often will be working together to create service opportunities as well as programs that focus on religious identities, leading to dialogue, understanding, and especially interaction between the student populations they serve.  Professionals will as well often be in offering opportunities with many a student considering decisions around majors, career paths, and thus bring the added element of spirituality to this import process.

Additionally, these religious life councils, especially ones which are leaning toward the ‘progressive’ will be interested in helping to create a more welcoming campus climate for their students. LGBT advocates, volunteers for women’s centers, mental health counseling backups, and referrals, and organizers for campus events are just a few of the many roles that these campus ministry professionals may be ready to fulfill if given permission. Professionals serving on this type of religious council may also bring unique insight to task forces, committees, and other needed decision-making bodies related to policies and practices on the campus.

Like student affairs educators, professionals in higher education ministries have a unique opportunity to engage with students.  In some ways, these religious professionals often have even more exposure to students due to the nature of their communities, wherein students often participate for their entire college experience. If engaged, these religious professionals would provide tremendous support to the university community and would be a useful asset to student affairs divisions seeking to enhance their campus climate. I encourage you to seek out these councils, get to know them, and find ways to build strategic partnerships that will support the work of the university.

Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed in this piece are my own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or landscape of higher education in regards to religious council in higher education. These reflections are my own and seek only to broaden the conversation reflective of the topic.

Resources

Jacobsen, D. G., & Jacobsen, R. H. (2012). No longer invisible: Religion in university education. New York: Oxford University Press.