"Religion is not a Monolith": Religious Experience at a Midwestern Liberal Arts College

This ethnographic project explored the extent to which the campus culture at a small liberal arts college was open to student experiences and expressions of the spiritual and the religious. The authors found that despite the college's reputation for valuing diversity and a commitment to social justice, students shared a narrative of religious intolerance that impacted the degree to which they felt comfortable sharing aspects of their religious selves on campus. The authors argue this context goes against the values of liberal arts education to promote the cultivation of critical thinking and postformal reasoning, along with the development of whole persons. Findings showed that students valued conversations as a form of religious practice on campus. The authors, therefore, propose that colleges and universities develop formal intentional communities focused on deliberative dialogues beginning with students' first year to sensitize students, faculty, and staff to student religious and spiritual interests and needs, thereby furthering the holistic development of liberal arts education.