ABSTRACT

Th e United States of America is the most religiously diverse nation in the world (Eck, 2009). Th e changes brought about from the 1965 immigration law created opportunities for an emergence of non-European immigrants. With this wave of immigrants came an array of religious traditions from Buddhists to Muslims to Sikhs. While the diversity of these non-Christian religious traditions grew, their numbers remain relatively small when compared to those who identify religiously with some form of Christianity. According to Bryant (2006) “colleges and universities provide a microcosm of American society . . . and must endeavor to create campus climates that are welcoming to students from all faith traditions” (p. 2). In an eff ort to create an inclusive and welcoming campus milieu for religious minority students (i.e., those who identify as non-Christian), we discuss the following in this chapter: (1) the dominant Christian context undergirding the early development of higher education institutions; (2) the continued prevalence of Christian privilege; (3) the role of religion and the experiences of religious minority students (RMS) in college; and (4) conceptual frameworks for understanding the campus climate and aspects of RMS religiousness. Th ese theoretical perspectives are particularly useful for deconstructing students’ religiousness and reconstructing individual agency and institutional responsibility toward enhancing the nature and quality of experiences for religious minority students. In the end, we off er recommendations for improving campus climate and the experiences of religious minority students.