ABSTRACT
In the formation of student religious organisations, locally and nationally, one can identify a process of what Steven Vertovec calls 'ethnic mobilisation'. He defines this as a strategy 'through which ethnic groups self-consciously define themselves by specific criteria of "belonging", compile and co-ordinate financial and symbolic resources, formalise social networks, institutionalise selected social practices, and engage the wider public sphere in order to advance group-specific causes'. The first student religious organisation founded in Britain was the 'Student Christian Movement' (SCM) in 1894. Throughout its history, it has been identified with a broadly liberal approach to the Christian faith, and indeed, this self-definition as 'liberal' was one of the reasons for a division in SCM within 34 years of its foundation. All of the student religious organisations active in Britain appear to be well-connected to a wide range of other religious, voluntary, student, and charitable associations, both within and outside their own tradition.
