Position Papers
Institutions of higher education hold a responsibility to foster campuses wherein students can reasonably access basic needs. Included in these needs are dietary options which align with students’ preferences and requirements, either due to medical circumstances, personal choice, or religion. This position paper recommends which concepts should be applied when addressing the need for religiously sensitive dietary options.
On intersectionality of RSSIs with other identities
Religious, secular, and spiritual identities (RSSIs), and even the more simplistic phrasing of religious identities, are quite often left off lists and analyses of intersectional elements. In order to fully advance equity and inclusion for all in society, intersectionality must dig deeper both to consider RSSIs and to understand how Christian supremacy is, in many ways, the foundation upon which other oppressions have been built. This position paper presents the considerations that should be made when integrating RSSIs into intersectionality analyses.
On offices for RSSIs
Higher education provides administrative oversight and advocacy for those entities and identities it sees as valuable. Yet, institutions have often ignored religious, secular, and spiritual identities (RSSIs), either closing offices that advocate for various RSSI groups or simply failing to create offices and staffing roles to support this area of identity. The reorganization and establishment of offices, positions, and general institutional structures and resources can be an effective method for dismantling longstanding forms of white Christian privilege, as well as demonstrate overtly the values of institutions to providing an inclusive climate for diverse campus community.
On prayer, meditation, and reflection spaces
Student access to neutral spaces for meditation, prayer, or reflection (MPR) is an important part of supporting all religious, secular, and spiritual identities (RSSIs) in an inclusive and equitable way. MPR spaces allow students to engage in religious or spiritual observance, to step out of the pressures of daily collegiate life, or simply to clear their minds. This position paper offers considerations for enabling neutral MPR spaces to be inclusive of all RSSIs.
On the protection of employee rights under Title VII
Since passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its landmark Title VII protections for employees, religious freedoms and civil rights have been protected in the workforce. Higher education in turn has been provided with documentation that it is to protect religious, secular, and spiritual identities (RSSIs) in all forms amongst its employees. This position paper presents the necessary considerations for institutions when adhering to the above laws and guidelines.
On the relationship between external religious communities and institutions
Since the founding of Harvard College in 1636, higher education has been deeply connected with the religious communities present across North America. In order to foster a campus community which is inclusive of all religious, secular, and spiritual identities, higher education administrators and institutions should provide ample processes through which to build trust, buy-in, as well as oversight of these organizations. This position paper recommends points for institutions to consider around their relationships with these communities.
On religion and culture
Higher education scholars and practitioners need to broaden their understandings of RSSIs to include such cultural elements as family heritage and observances, and country of origin (of self and of family). All of these elements influence the ways students experience their identities. This position paper recommends the concepts that should be applied when considering the relationship between religion and culture.
On the role of staff and administrators in supporting RSSIs
Despite significant student-focused movements on college and university campuses around college student religious, secular, and spiritual identities (RSSIs), there exists significant gaps within institutional policies and practices. In order to improve campuses toward full equity and inclusion for people of diverse RSSIs, higher education should focus on administrators and practitioners as the most impactful catalysts for long-term environmental changes. This position paper recommends the concepts necessary for developing the infrastructure for such improvements.
On secularism as a part of RSSIs
Convergence Strategies uses “secular” here as a broad category that includes many non-religious and non-spiritual ways of being. Scholars and practitioners studying and working with secular individuals should address the broad spectrum of secular beliefs and understandings, beyond those which simply reject religion and spirituality. This position paper offers important concerns to address when supporting the needs of secular individuals on campus.
On the use of survey tools in demographic data for RSSIs
Throughout higher education, data is a driving factor in decision-making at macro and micro levels of institutions. In recent years, some institutions of higher education have stopped collecting data pertaining to religious, secular, and spiritual identities (RSSIs) on campus, effectively losing track of this demographic data. This lack of data potentially threatens the support of marginalized individuals who have struggled to access resources and needs related to their RSSIs.
On white Christian Supremacy
Higher education has been complicit in white Christian supremacy; the associated phenomena of Christian privilege, hegemony, and normativity; and the oppression of minoritized RSSIs since its founding in the U.S. Higher education must therefore become complicit in the dismantling of these systems. This position paper presents the concepts that should be applied when addressing the structures of white Christian supremacy within higher education.
