Creating Discursive Space for Religion and Spirituality in Universities: A Review Essay

The secularization of higher education has created a complicated context for discourse about religion and spirituality in most public and some private universities. Yet the growing orientation toward spirituality and faith among undergraduates calls for a renewed openness to matters of beliefs and values in college classrooms, a topic addressed by the three books reviewed in this article, providing insights into why it is important to create open discursive space for dialogue about values in higher education and ways institutions are moving toward this aim. Here, the authors reflect on some of the issues these three new contributions raise. John Sommerville's new book, "Religious Ideas for Secular Universities," provides a framework for understanding the complexities of discussing faith in this new age of globalization. Robert Nash and Michele Murray's "Helping College Students Find Purpose: The Campus Guide to Meaning-Making" directly addresses the importance of creating a discursive space to address interfaith dialogue within secular universities in this period of globalization. Katherine Hendrix and Janice Hamlet's new book, "As the Spirit Moves Us: Embracing Spirituality in the Postsecondary Experience," provides access to the experiences of faculty members who are intentional about engaging their spirituality in their teaching and research. The authors conclude that these three books contribute substantially to the discourse on religion and spirituality in higher education.