Multi-Faith Religious Spaces on College and University Campuses

Abstract

Abstract As American colleges, universities, and independent schools face the challenge of accommodating students' wide variety of religious needs, the multi-faith center has emerged as a visible symbol of an institution's commitment to embrace diversity. We address this current trend by first describing the historic relationship between religion and higher education, discovering a pattern that leads from Christian sectarianism through the sudden emergence of non-sectarianism, and into the realities of today's multi-faith culture. Following that, the space needs of a multi-faith center are identified, providing guidelines for planning. Finally, three categories of existing multi-faith centers are explored, including renovated religious spaces, renovated non-religious spaces, and new construction. KEYWORDS: chaplainciesinter-faith centersmulti-faith centersprayer roomsreligious architecturereligious diversityreligious life programsspiritual centers Notes F. M. Perko, "Religion and Collegiate Education," in (Encyclopedia of the American Religious Experience, ed. Charles H. Lippy and Peter W. Williams (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1988), 1611. B. E. Carroll, The Routledge Historical Atlas of Religion in America (Oxford, UK: Routledge, 2000), 30. Perko, 1612. Carroll, 56. Perko, 1615. G. M. Marsden, The Soul of the American University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Nonbelief (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1994), 120. Perko, 1615. R. H. Seager, ed., The Dawn of Religious Pluralism (Chicago: Open Court Publishing, 1993), General Introduction. D. L. Eck, Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to Banaras (Boston: Beacon Press, 1993), 42–43. Ibid., 189. Norberg-Schulz, Christian, Existence, Space & Architecture (Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Publishers, 1971), 430. K. P. Hong, e-mail message to author, July 15, 2010. Information about multifaith facilities on individual campuses has been drawn from the websites and promotional materials of those institutions. Additional informationNotes on contributorsKarla Johnson Karla S. Johnson, AIA, is a principal with Johnson Roberts Associates, architects. She has over 30 years of architectural experience working with private, public, and institutional clients in all phases of the building programming, design, and construction processes. Ms. Johnson was principal architect for the Interfaith Center at Tufts University that has received 3 design awards. She has taught at the Boston Architectural Center and in 2010 moderated a panel for "Multi-Faith Religious Space: The Solution to Diverse Campus Religious Pressures" at the Society for College and University Planning annual conference. E-mail: kjohnson@johnson-roberts.com Peter Laurence Peter Laurence is executive director of the Education as Transformation Project at Wellesley College. He is co-editor of Education as Transformation: Religious Pluralism, Spirituality, and a New Vision for Higher Education in America, and co-general editor of the 9-volume book series, Studies in Education and Spirituality with Peter Lang Publishing. He also produced Beyond Tolerance: A Campus Religious Diversity Kit in collaboration with the National Association for Student Personnel Administrators, and in 2009 completed production of the video documentary, Creating Multifaith Community at Wellesley College. E-mail: PeterLL@concentric.net