Redefining Interfaith Engagement: A Case Study of One Evangelical Institution

Abstract

This article presents findings from an exemplary case that highlighted some opportunities and challenges one evangelical institution faced when trying to promote interfaith learning and development in its students, despite the absence of formal interfaith practices on campus. The case study, which included an evangelical institution with little to no formal interfaith practice, was conducted as part of the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey (IDEALS), a mixed-methods project designed to capture information on the collegiate conditions and educational practices that spur interfaith learning and development. The university was identified as exemplary in that its students empirically demonstrated interfaith learning gains during their first year in college. Results center the importance of the classroom for its role in building the type of trust that allows students to struggle religiously and spiritually. Recommendations for considering interfaith work at evangelical institutions are provided. Among these recommendations are to locate and institutionalize interfaith practices within articulations and expressions of the institutional mission, logic, framework, and language and improve practices that help students develop interfaith sensibilities.