Image: Dr. Josh Patterson (PhD 2020) issues a call to action to higher education leaders to protect and strengthen its forums for religious, spiritual and secular identity exploration. He maintains that requiring students to participate in a course on religious studies promotes healthier and deeper understanding of an individual's own beliefs and productive exchanges on differences. Patterson writes, "The courses colleges offer matter, now more than ever." However, despite statements valuing diversity and importance of a broad liberal arts education, campuses have faced major financial reductions and scrutiny of ROIs that have hit religious studies programs especially hard. Students also have tended to move to areas perceived to be more financially lucrative. "Space on campus, in the professoriate and in the curriculum, has legitimatizing power for the field of religious studies." Patterson points to several major research papers that indicate a strong correlation between religion programs and positive spiritual climates on campuses and also that refute a prevailing view that religious studies do not contribute to overall student or institution success. The American Academy of Religion published the opinion piece, "The Importance of Attending to RSSIs in College Curricula," in the January 2021 issue of Convergence Magazine. Read article Type of News/Audience: Alumni
