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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

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Christianity and the University Experience in Contemporary England

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  1. Christianity and the University Experience in Contemporary England Dr Mathew Guest (Durham) Dr Sonya Sharma (Durham) Dr Kristin Aune (Derby) Dr Rob Warner (Chester)

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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)

  5. 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)

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

  9. Dissemination of results • Academic publications and conferences • Briefings to interested parties • HEIs, Government, Religious organisations • Knowledge transfer through a website

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