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Abstract of
WHAT DO COLLEGE STUDENTS THINK ABOUT RELIGIOUS PLURALISM?
A STUDY OF STUDENTS AT AMHERST COLLEGE
by
Paul Vincent Sorrentino
Religious life staffs at colleges and universities struggle with how best to address
religious plurality on campus. How can we serve a multifaith community in a way that is
respectful and meaningful to the various faith adherents? A key element often missing in
seeking to address this concern is what do religiously involved students think about
coming together with people of other faiths? This is the research question of the study.
Surveys were sent to 701 Amherst College students. Two-hundred and nineteen
of these were returned. From that group, 91 students participated in two-hour focus
group interviews. The groups were homogeneous by faith tradition. Sample size was
large enough to subdivide the Jewish, Protestant, and Roman Catholic groups into high,
moderate, and low involvement groups. All four class years were represented.
Transcripts were analyzed with a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software
program (NVivo).
The results include quotations from the interviews and survey summaries.
Psychosocial and theological analysis of the data is provided in the final two chapters.
The findings of this study are:
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1)
All religious students have a commitment to a set of beliefs, symbols,
regulations, rites and practices and want these particularities to be
respected, valued, guarded and understood in multifaith interactions;
2)
Provided the first condition is met, religious students are eager to learn
about and from the faith of others. This is especially true in informal
settings and multifaith dialogue, as opposed to multifaith services.
3)
Multifaith events are valued primarily for their educational benefit,
cultural expression, and potential to deepen relationships.
The use of multifaith dialogue was shown to be an especially effective means of
educating students about other faiths and providing an attractive forum for an exchange
of ideas about beliefs and values. Guidelines are provided for planning a multifaith
service as well as suggestions for when it may be appropriate.
The faculty advisors for this project were Professors Kenda Dean and Daniel
Migliore.
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WHAT DO COLLEGE STUDENTS THINK ABOUT RELIGIOUS PLURALISM?
A STUDY OF STUDENTS AT AMHERST COLLEGE
by
Paul Vincent Sorrentino
A Final Thesis Project Report
Submitted to the Faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Ministry
Princeton, New Jersey
May 2005
© Copyright Paul Vincent Sorrentino 2005
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am indebted to many people who assisted me along the way in this project. Tom
Gerety, former President of Amherst College, and Greg Call, Dean of Faculty, provided
important financial assistance without which the research for this project could not have
been accomplished. Matt Schulkind, Associate Professor of Psychology at Amherst, and
Patrice Brodeur, currently a Rockefeller Visiting Fellow at Notre Dame's Kroc Institute,
each provided valuable support and advice at key times during the project. Hermenia
Gardner, formerly the Affirmative Action Officer at Amherst, was a mainstay of my
support. Ben Lieber, Dean of Students at Amherst, and the rest of the deans encouraged
me and made substantial allowances for me to adjust my workload. My thanks go to
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and John Ratichek for allowing me the flexibility in my
schedule to make trips to Princeton and to use time for studies.
The staff in dining services at Valentine Hall was immensely supportive as I
conducted my research in a private dining room. The Information Technology staff,
particularly Nicholas Dahlman, showed endless patience with my formatting disability.
Matt Mascioli uncomplainingly proofread my manuscript. I was competently supported
by several research assistants: Corie Wallace did the lion's share of the work along with
Jennifer Wertheimer and Melody Ko. They tirelessly did set-up and breakdown, took
notes, typed transcripts and created tables.
The religious life staff at Amherst encouraged me throughout the project and
often took over responsibilities to free up time for me. My thanks to Eric Getty, Diane
iii
Dix, Dawn Murry, Tom Fisher, Bruce Bromberg Seltzer, Shamshad Sheikh, Leon
Burrows, Liz Carr and Bruce Teague.
Student leaders in the Amherst Christian Fellowship were an amazing support and
encouragement. Special thanks go to Sarah Bass, Chris Burnor, Rob Godzeno, Jin-
Young Kim, Janet Lydecker, Katie Massopust, and Christian Sanchez who led the
Fellowship while I was ensconced in the depths of Valentine.
I was privileged to work with a wonderful peer group at Princeton. Meals
together, walks, phone calls, visits, and exhortations kept me in the program. My thanks
for friendship and support go to Kendell Cameron, Janel Dixon, John Norman, Jim
Rawlings, Jeff Carter, Mark Radecke and Lydia and Bruce Rappaport. I was grateful for
the opportunity to work with faculty members Don Juel, Jim Kay, and Randy Nichols.
My two advisors for the project were of immense help to me. Kenda Dean encouraged
me to pursue this direction from the beginning and gave me some invaluable research
advice. Dan Migliore helped with long phone calls and extensive comments on my
manuscript.
I am grateful to my sister and brother-in-law, Kathy and Bern Lytle, for their
hospitality. They provided me a quiet place to work and fed me when I came out of my
room. My Mom, Joan Tunnicliff, has always been affirming and encouraged me by her
calls and prayers. My stepmother, Rosemary Pierrel Sorrentino, has been my academic
inspiration and I regret that she did not get to see me finish. My Dad, Louis Sorrentino,
was my Princeton historical advisor and ever interested in what I was doing.
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Most of all, I am thankful for my family who has cheered me on and paid the cost
for my reduced time at home and minimal availability during these four years. My boys,
John and Tim, were understanding of missed special days and events. I look forward to
making it up to them. My wife, Karen, is the one who encouraged me to do the program
and never wavered in her commitment to my seeing it through. It is to her, most of all,
that I owe my undying love and thanks.
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
vi
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
ix
LIST OF TABLES
x
INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER ONE: THE CHALLENGE OF RELIGIOUS PLURALISM
6
Setting 6
Problem 12
CHAPTER TWO: RESEARCH METHOD
16
Sample 16
Questionnaire 17
Assignment 18
Focus Groups
21
CHAPTER THREE: RESULTS
28
Questionnaire results
28
Focus Groups
33
CHAPTER FOUR: PSYCHO-SOCIAL ANALYSIS
63
Sacred Canopy
63
Education 70
vi
Faith Development
74
Culture 77
Multifaith or Interfaith?
80
CHAPTER FIVE: THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
90
Particularity 93
Appraisal 99
Commitment 106
CONCLUSION 117
1. Commitment to Particularity
118
2. Learning from Others
120
3. Multifaith Events: Educational, Cultural, and Relational
121
Guidelines for Multifaith Gatherings
123
Further Research
126
Conclusion 127
APPENDIX ONE: RELIGIOUS LIFE QUESTIONNAIRE
129
APPENDIX TWO: INVITATION LETTER
130
APPENDIX THREE: RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE
131
APPENDIX FOUR: INTRODUCTION TO FOCUS GROUPS
133
APPENDIX FIVE: FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS
135
APPENDIX SIX: ADDITIONAL QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
137
APPENDIX SEVEN: FOCUS GROUP RESULTS
141
APPENDIX EIGHT: ADDITIONAL STUDENT COMMENTS
147
vii
Multifaith Impressions and Experiences
147
Multifaith Interaction Preferences
147
Multifaith Services
149
Help on the Journey
156
Psycho-Social Analysis
156
Theology of Religions
157
APPENDIX NINE EXCURSUS ON CHAPLAINS AND CAMPUS MINISTERS 158
BIBLIOGRAPHY 160
viii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure
Page
1.
Venn
diagram
of
roles
66
2. Religious Particularity & Commonality
Emphasis 86
ix
LIST OF TABLES
Table
Page
1. Religious Affiliation by Returned Religious Interest Questionnaire
10
2. Religious Involvement by Religious Affiliation & Range
20
3. Focus Group Composition
24
4. Total Survey Scores
30
5. Influence: Do your religious beliefs influence the way you lead your life?
31
6. Identity: How important is your religious faith to your identity?
32
7. Most Important A
36
8. Most Important B
39
9. Positive Multifaith Impressions and experiences
40
10. Effects of Multifaith
43
11. Interaction Preferences
45
12. Multifaith Service Impressions
48
13. Multifaith Service Preferences
50
14. Multifaith Services (Prayer)
53
15. Attitude During Service
55
16. Multifaith Services (Overall Approach)
58
17. Help on the Journey
61
18. Preferred Term
81
A1. Summary Results of Research Questionnaire
137
A2. Commitment: What number best describes the nature of your religion?
139
A3. Prayer: How often do you pray privately?
139
A4. Literature: How often do you read literature related to your faith?
140
A5. Focus Group Categories by Numeric Value and Percentage of Groups
141
A6. Spiritual vs. Religious
143
A7. Multifaith Preferences
144
x
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