It’s happening across the country. There’s a growing interest in faith and spirituality among students that’s difficult to ignore.
The New York Times reported that faculty members like David Burhans said, after retiring from his post as chaplain at the University of Richmond, that “students are really exploring, they are really interesting in trying things out, in attending one another’s services.
At Colgate University, Lesleigh Cushing, an assistant professor of religion and Jewish studies, says: “I can fill basically any class on the Bible. I wasn’t expecting that.”
Lehigh religion department chairman Benjamin Wright said that there are anywhere from 18 – 30 religion majors these days, compared with only two when he first came to the school 17 years ago.
The growing number interested in religion and allied fields has inspired the forming of new religious organizations, special dorms, and an array of programs and events. Since many of these occasions offer food to students, Colgate University chaplain Mark Shiner refers to it as the phenomenon of “gastro-evangelism.”
Deborah Lambert, who serves as Special Projects Director at Accuracy in Media, writes the Squeaky Chalk column for Accuracy in Academia’s monthly Campus Report newsletter.
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