Religious Diversity and University Chaplaincy

“As American higher education continues to evolve, colleges and universities must recognize that their purpose goes beyond simply shaping careers or industries. The true purpose of higher education is to improve our understanding of what it means to be human. This new book offers many valuable and practical lessons for those who care about the question of how to advance a meaningful and relevant religious, spiritual, and ethical life on campus and beyond.”


—Greg M. Epstein, humanist chaplain, Harvard University





“A nation with architectural and legal capacity to welcome and protect religious identity was radically framed into the eighteenth-century blueprint of the United States. Gregory McGonigle’s insightful new ethnography, Religious Diversity and University Chaplaincy, captures essential twenty-first-century work to construct multifaith academic chaplaincies. We hear from hidden visionaries and designers who now illuminate the nation’s original manuscripts and secure campus space for burgeoning spiritual, cultural, and ethnic diversity amid swift currents of global and national politics.”


—Janet M. Cooper Nelson, chaplain of the university, Brown University





“Drawing upon the wisdom of chaplains, Gregory McGonigle opens windows into the changing patterns of religious life in colleges and universities. The need for such a book, especially one focused on traditions beyond Judaism and Christianity, has grown exponentially in recent years as the student population diversifies, spiritual hungers grow, and the need for multireligious understanding spreads into every aspect of public life. This book is a must-read for university chaplains.”


—Mary Elizabeth Moore, dean emerita of the school of theology and education, Boston University