Christianity and the University Experience in Contemporary England
description
Transcript of Christianity and the University Experience in Contemporary England
Christianity and the University Experience in Contemporary England
Dr Mathew Guest (Durham)Dr Sonya Sharma (Durham)Dr Kristin Aune (Derby) Dr Rob Warner (Chester)
The Project in Brief
The project explores how students (aged 18-25) negotiate Christian identities at university
Large Grant (£334,000), funding: replacement teaching costs for Investigators Research Associate salary travel to research sites, project seminars,
dissemination at conferences
Duration: September 2009-August 2012
Research Context
Why study Christian students?
What do we already know about Christian students?
Christianity as an identity marker for some students
Conflicts with other groups
Christian Student Groups
Christian Unions (UCCF) – 20,000 students in 250-350 CUs in UK (mostly England)
Fusion – 350 small groups in 70 UK universities
Chaplaincies: Anglican and Methodist societies (often linked to
Student Christian Movement) Catholic societies (linked to Catholic Student Forum)
Freedom vs equality at Exeter University?
"The Evangelical Christian Union is the only society identified that has barriers to entry - both for membership of the society and to be on the committee of the society. This is certainly not a debate regarding the beliefs of the society, it is one of equal opportunities." (Exeter University Students Guild)
“Going to court is the last thing we want to do, but we really feel that our fundamental freedoms of belief, association and expression are being threatened here.”(Ben Martin, Christian Union committee)
Arising Questions
How does the university experience influence student Christian faith? Liberalise, neutralise, consolidate, repudiate, or radicalise? Symbolic boundaries and social construction of ethical
certainties? How forceful are the dynamics of secularization and
fundamentalism?
How does student Christian faith influence the university experience? Social capital? Quality of learning? Social cohesion? Social
activism? Or privatized? – autonomous religious consumption
Aims
To identify the religious beliefs and social values of Christian undergraduates
To explore the impact of the university experience – educational, social and religious – on those beliefs and values, and vice versa
To identify how organized Christian groups – from chaplaincies to CUs – help students respond to the university experience, and to examine their impact upon cohesion and division within the student body
To address implications of these findings for HEIs, government policy, and religious organizations
Methods
Quantitative - A nationwide student survey of religious and ethical convictions, and attitudes to university
Qualitative – Interview-based case studies of undergraduate Christian faith and practice in three universities
Dissemination of results
Academic publications and conferences
Briefings to interested parties HEIs, Government, Religious organisations
Knowledge transfer through a website