Christianity and the University Experience: Understanding Student Faith - Softcover

Guest, Mathew; Aune, Kristin; Sharma, Sonya; Warner, Rob

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1780937849 ISBN 13: 9781780937847

Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013

Synopsis

What impact does the experience of university have on Christian students? Are universities a force for secularisation? Is student faith enduring, or a passing phase? Universities are often associated with a sceptical attitude towards religion. Many assume that academic study leads students away from any existing religious convictions, heightening the appeal of a rationalist secularism increasingly dominant in wider society. And yet Christianity remains highly visible on university campuses and continues to be a prominent identity marker in the lives of many students.

Analysing over 4,000 responses to a national survey of students and nearly 100 interviews with students and those working with them, this book examines Christianity in universities across England. It explores the beliefs, values and practices of Christian students. It reveals how the university experience influences their Christian identities, and the influence Christian students have upon university life.

Christianity and the University Experience makes fascinating reading for anyone interested in the survival and evolution of religion in the contemporary world. It offers fresh insights relevant to those working with Christian students, including churches, chaplaincies and student organisations, as well as policy-makers and university managers interested in the significance of religion for education, social responsibility and social cohesion.

About this title

About the Authors

Mathew Guest is Professor in the Sociology of Religion at Durham University, UK. He is the co-author of Christianity and the University Experience: Understanding Student Faith (2013) and Islam on Campus: Contested identities and the Cultures of Higher Education in Britain (2020). He is the author of Evangelical Identity and Contemporary Culture (2007).

Kristin Aune is Senior Lecturer in Sociology, at the University of Derby, UK.

Sonya Sharma is Associate Professor of Sociology at University College London, UK.

Dr Rob Warner is Professor of Religion, Culture and Society, and Dean of Humanities at the University of Chester, UK.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1780937849
• ISBN 13: 9781780937847
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256