Resource Mapping UNL's Underserved Communities of Faith

Morgan Hurtz, Pierce Bower, Tessa Faust Author

04/04/2021 Added

40 Plays

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The purpose of our research is to identify underserved communities-of-faith at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and ascertain what resources they need in order to practice effectively. Our major research goal is to determine what religious resources UNL affiliates need/ desire, and whether or not they feel UNL fulfills those needs.

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[00:00:00.433]Hello and welcome to the UCARE study, “Resource Mapping UNL’s Underserved Communities of Faith,”
[00:00:06.272]by Pierce Bower, Tessa Faust, and Morgan Hurtz.
[00:00:09.642]In this presentation, we will discuss the importance of our research before we explain the objective of our study.
[00:00:15.882]From there we will report the methods used, followed by the study results, and finally our concluding discussion.
[00:00:22.455]Let us begin by covering some background information regarding the religious demographics of Nebraska.
[00:00:28.862]According to the Pew Research Center’s 2014 study,
[00:00:32.532]Nebraska was 75% Christian, 20% unaffiliated, and around 4% religious non-Christian.
[00:00:38.972]More locally, according to data collected by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies in 2010,
[00:00:46.046]Lancaster County’s population was 53.2 % Christian, 44.3% unclaimed, and 2.3% “Other”.
[00:00:54.954]At the national level, however,
[00:00:56.556]white Christians compose less than half of the population and Non-Christian groups are rising.
[00:01:01.428]Since out-of-state students make up one third of UNL’s student body
[00:01:05.298]it’s important to consider nation trends in relation to the university.
[00:01:09.702]Beyond shifting demographics, the importance of interfaith work is relevant to intercultural conflict resolution and community strength.
[00:01:17.243]According to a special report by the United States Institute of Peace,
[00:01:20.880]interfaith dialogue is often necessary at many social levels when resolving conflict,
[00:01:25.718]yet interfaith work is an overlooked facet of inclusivity on many college campuses.
[00:01:31.191]Moreover, interfaith work is important because it encourages shared narratives among pluralistic religious communities,
[00:01:37.497]and religious pluralism is key because it encourages the respect of identities and aids effective diversity training.
[00:01:44.737]However, this importance does not appear to be realized at UNL.
[00:01:48.975]UNL seemingly recognizes the plurality of religious members on campus,
[00:01:53.279]but many religions do not have an actualized place of worship.
[00:01:57.117]For example, they state Hinduism as a present religion,
[00:02:00.286]but there are no Hindu worship communities shown on the Chamber of Commerce list provided by the university.
[00:02:06.392]To compound the point,
[00:02:07.594]10 out of 12 worship centers listed on UNL’s Parent’s Association Page are Christian,
[00:02:12.465]and 28 of the 33 registered student organizations that relate to spirituality and religion are explicitly Christian.
[00:02:20.740]Furthermore,
[00:02:21.541]certain UNL policies are structured in a way that makes it difficult for members of certain religious backgrounds to observe their faith.
[00:02:28.548]For example,
[00:02:29.516]Non-Christian students are required to request in advance excused absences for religious observances,
[00:02:35.155]which instructors have the power to determine as legitimate or not.
[00:02:38.858]Moreover, the approval process to use tobacco on campus can hamper the religious practices of certain indigenous peoples,
[00:02:45.732]and the ban of incense and candles in residence halls can make pagan observances difficult.
[00:02:51.104]With the importance of interfaith work and its relevance to UNL in mind,
[00:02:54.941]we were able to develop and justify a preliminary analysis of perceived religious resources on UNL’s campus,
[00:03:01.614]which brings us to our research objective.
[00:03:04.684]The purpose of our research is to identify underserved communities-of-faith within UNL’s student, faculty, and staff populations,
[00:03:12.258]and to ascertain what resources they require to properly observe their faiths.
[00:03:16.863]The identification of UNL affiliates’ religious needs, as well as their perspectives on how well those needs are met,
[00:03:23.102]is the major goal of our research.
[00:03:26.039]To conduct our research, we designed an anonymous, online survey that asked respondents about their demographic information,
[00:03:32.111]such as age, gender, and religious affiliation, as well as religiosity and their perceptions of available faith-based resources on campus.
[00:03:41.321]The survey was distributed via email through communication channels including instructors and advisors within the department of Classics and Religious Studies.
[00:03:49.629]It was also sent to community leaders and all listed religious RSOs.
[00:03:54.334]The survey was open for 25 days and all answers that inform the results were submitted by UNL affiliates.
[00:04:01.975]After the 25 days, the survey collected a total of 93 analyzable responses.
[00:04:07.447]Most respondents were: female, between the ages of 19 to 24, currently a graduate student.
[00:04:14.387]Of those religiously affiliated, respondents were 67.7% Christian, 6.45% Muslim, 3.22% Jewish, 2.15% Hindu, 1.08% Pagan, and 1.08% Traditional/Folk.
[00:04:32.705]15.1% of respondents were not religiously affiliated, being either atheist, agnostic, or non-religious,
[00:04:40.146]and 3.22% reported to not know their religious affiliation.
[00:04:45.451]The majority of respondents at least somewhat view themselves as religious or spiritual
[00:04:50.356]and understand those terms as communicating different concepts.
[00:04:54.494]16% of respondents don’t think they have the resources to personally practice their faith on campus,
[00:05:00.566]and 20% feel they can’t find relevant information about religious accommodations.
[00:05:06.372]A plurality of respondents (about 36%) at least partially agree that they would use an interfaith space if one were made available on campus.
[00:05:15.682]15% of respondents at least partially feel their religion is not respected at UNL
[00:05:20.853]and 20% do not feel safe or comfortable discussing their religion on campus.
[00:05:26.559]Furthermore,
[00:05:27.360]in the Spring of 2020, 6.5% of respondents say they sometimes had trouble practicing their religion due to a lack of resources,
[00:05:35.501]while 10% say they frequently had the same problem.
[00:05:39.072]Those numbers increased to 7.6% and nearly 12% the following semester, presumably due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
[00:05:48.081]Qualitatively,
[00:05:49.282]respondents who follow faith-based dietary restrictions expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of accommodating dining options on campus.
[00:05:57.724]Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim respondents stated the need for closer places of worship and, similarly,
[00:06:04.063]many respondents feel it’s too difficult to find a prayer space.
[00:06:08.267]Additionally,
[00:06:09.168]some respondents would like to see generalized educational religious opportunities and more inclusive religious organizations.
[00:06:17.110]In line with state demographics, most respondents identified as Christian.
[00:06:22.048]Two thirds of participants who feel they don’t have the resources they need within Lincoln were non-Christian,
[00:06:27.787]and a slightly smaller percentage of those who feel they had too few resources on campus were also non-Christian.
[00:06:35.161]Additionally, 70% of respondents who aren’t comfortable discussing their beliefs on campus were, again, non-Christian.
[00:06:43.002]One third of respondents stated they would use an interfaith space if one were made available on campus,
[00:06:48.841]pointing to the possible utility of such a resource.
[00:06:52.779]While this data may be indicative of institutional short-comings, certain limitations ought to be recognized.
[00:07:00.052]First, our sample size was relatively small, limiting the generalizability of the data,
[00:07:05.591]and our limited outreach makes diverse representation from each college on campus unlikely.
[00:07:11.731]Second, the survey was conducted online and only in English, potentially limiting the pool of participants.
[00:07:18.938]Lastly, the survey does not address other relevant characteristics that may be intertwined with religious identity,
[00:07:25.678]such as ethnicity, nationality, political affiliation, or sexual orientation.
[00:07:31.250]Even with the limitations,
[00:07:32.852]the data collected is at least enough to justify future exploration of the topic, and the following avenues may be productive.
[00:07:40.493]First, conducting a larger study, possibly by an independent organization,
[00:07:45.131]that covers multiple colleges and even other University of Nebraska campuses,
[00:07:50.236]could yield valuable data that gives a more accurate account of the university’s religious demographics.
[00:07:56.242]Second, a study regarding religious education may provide insight into UNL affiliates’ knowledge of diverse religious practices.
[00:08:04.484]Finally,
[00:08:05.151]as far as our data shows, non-Christian religions are underrepresented in regard to faith-based resources on UNL’s campus.
[00:08:13.059]The establishment of an interfaith space could be an excellent starting point in providing for underserved communities,
[00:08:19.465]especially with the indication of those respondents’ interest.
[00:08:23.302]This concludes our study presentation.
[00:08:25.738]Thank you.

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Resource Mapping UNL's Underserved Communities of Faith

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