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