The plan, approved in 2015, lays out a pathway for the development of multifaith education and engagement at Elon based on mutual respect and understanding.
A new interim report details advances Elon University has made in the implementation of a multifaith strategic plan approved in 2015 and designed to promote mutual respect and understanding across religious faiths.
When it was approved three years ago, the five-year multifaith initiative laid out objectives under four main goals — building community, enhancing breadth, deepening engagement and enhancing capacity. Titled “Engaging Religions/Building community, the plan seeks to nurture a more religiously diverse and welcoming campus community, develop the ability for members of this community to engage with colleagues and communities representing diverse views, provide opportunities for deeper engagement around multifaith matters and establish the infrastructure needed to support this work.
As noted in the recently released interim report, “this approach recognizes that the public good is served by an informed and educated electorate, that our campus is a healthier academic institution when differences are engaged and discussed rather than smoothed over, and that sophisticated and meaningful multifaith engagement requires study and intellectual discovery as much as good intentions and tolerance.”
The full interim report is available here.
In the years since it was approved, Elon has made significant advances toward those goals in the creation of new programs, events and resources for members of a broad range of religious faiths. Progress on the plan has included the introduction of new opportunities for members of the campus community to gather for discussion and has opened up new academic pathways for students to explore these themes.
“I know of no other university in the US that has developed a plan as comprehensive as this one,” says Brian Pennington, director of the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture and Society, and professor of religious studies. “It has positioned Elon as one of the nation’s preeminent institutions for multifaith education, a fact that is clearly evident in the number of visitors we host from other schools who come to study Elon as a model for their own campuses.”
Among the achievements so far under the strategic plan:
The establishment of the Multifaith Scholars Program
The program, which just announced the selection of its second class, allows students to pursue academic coursework, undertake faculty-mentored undergraduate research projects, and participate in community engagement partnerships with local religious communities during their junior and senior years. The program is supported by a grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation.
The creation of the Ripple Conference
Each February, Elon hosts this student-led event that has become the Southeast’s largest regional interfaith conference for college students. Participants engage in dialogue, reflection and training through keynote speakers, panels and interactive breakout workshops.
Revision of weekly Numen Lumen gatherings
Students, faculty and staff now gather each week in the Sacred Space under a new format that combines reflections with musical selections.
Development of the Interreligious Studies Minor
Approved in spring 2016, the first students with this minor graduated in 2017, with the minor placing students in contact with local communities through coursework. The goal is to enhance the experience for students through site visits, research projects, internships and exposure to interreligious conversation.
Creation of two undergraduate research opportunities
The Center for the Study of Religion, Culture and Society (CSRCS) now maintains two faculty-mentored undergraduate research programs. The Scholar Development Grant offers first- and second-year students the opportunity to lay the groundwork for a long-term research project. The Summer Research Fellowship provides support to more advanced students who are conducting research during the summer months.
Creation of the Mindfully Plural interfaith Living Learning Community
Elon has added to its residential learning community offerings with the creation of the Mindfully Plural interfaith Living Learning Community. Located at the Station at Mill Point, eight students are living in an intentionally multifaith community for religious practice, reflection programming and service.
Progress has also included Elon’s participation in the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey (IDEALS), an instrument to better understand how students are engaging with multifaith issues. The university has increased resources for students, faculty and staff of all faiths and created a reading group headed by the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture and Society each semester, typically in conjunction with a speaker or event.
“Early IDEALS data shows that Elon’s student respondents are highly involved in interfaith events, and with difference in general, they expect to be challenged by religious diversity and other kinds of diversity,” said University Chaplain Jan Fuller. “We are hopeful that as we receive the next round of data we will discover connections with students’ abilities to find their own voices and sense of self-authorship.”
Fuller notes that the university’s Multifaith Engagement interns commit to interfaith learning, attend Interfaith Youth Core’s Interfaith Leadership Institute, form the core leadership team for Ripple and engage new students in interfaith exploration and learning. They plan and run the annual Religious Festival series and other engaged student leaders have planned progressive dinners, interfaith dialogues and interfaith coffee houses.
In other areas, Elon continues to work toward other goals outlined in the strategic plan. Those include developing classroom modules and materials prepared for instructors by faculty experts and creating flexible co-curricular modules that can be used in residential neighborhoods.
The Center for the Study of Religion, Culture and Society has also begun collaborating with the School of Communications on the production of videos that explore multifaith topics and offer coverage of multifaith events on campus. Conversations have also begun about the possibility of establishing a scholar-in-residence program to bring new expertise to campus.
“The work that remains in this plan lies mainly in solidifying our gains by leveraging the capacity we have created for student and community engagement with religion and spirituality,” Pennington says. “Already, however, we are looking to develop a new plan that will further challenge us to prepare our students for a rapidly changing world.”