Is it good for Christian students to meet people of other faiths?
When we send young adults off to college, we hope that they are prepared for whatever career they’re pursuing. That includes accumulation of information, but that could happen at the local library. The college experience is unique — and worth the price we pay for it — because it exposes students to a diversity of people that helps us practice how to interact with the world and forms our character.
Part of that diversity is religious. Even at most religious institutions, there is opportunity for students — sometimes for the first time in their lives — to interact and build relationships with people of other faiths.
Is that a good thing for Christians?
I vehemently believe it is.
In my capacity as a professor, I find the voices of students of other faiths to be not only welcome in the classroom but actively needed in order to promote learning. I remember teaching a unit on how Christians understand the role of the Bible within our faith and hearing from a few Muslim students as they shared their own experiences with the Qur'an. Suddenly, Christian students in the class were more engaged, not because they felt the need to debate, but because it helped them clarify their own views of their own holy book.
As a chaplain, I once spoke with a Jewish student who said her relationship with her Christian roommate was leading to rich conversation about their respective faiths. The Christian student was able to gain a deeper appreciation for the Hebrew Bible and the Jewish student was able to hear from the Christian student on faith practices and her faith journey.
Of course, there are times of friction. When students feel misunderstood, misled, or even like their faith is challenging to others on campus.
But promoting interfaith dialogue strengthens the faith of Christian students — if they are willing to engage with curiosity and humility.
Why does this matter?
We live in a pluralist society. Your student will encounter people of different faiths and beliefs after college. Knowing how to disagree kindly and respectfully is an important life skill.
College is a time for learning. Students not only learn inside the classroom but also outside the classroom as well. When students engage in dialogue with their roommates, peers, and friends, they are actively learning more about their own faith and the faiths of those around them.
Interfaith dialogue is an opportunity for students to understand and notice how big or small they perceive God to be. Is their God big enough to handle the beliefs of someone different from them? Is their faith secure enough to hear about the doubts others have about the Christian faith? These are challenging, yet necessary questions.
How can parents and pastors support these endeavors? Laying a good foundation for curiosity over judgment (thanks, Ted Lasso) is essential!
It can be immensely helpful to talk to the young adults in our lives about meeting people of other faiths in the same way we would hope for our own beliefs to be received. But what is even more important is modeling compassionate and confident hospitality in our own lives.
None of us will do it perfectly, but thankfully, God is big enough for our blunders — and all the beliefs that make humanity diverse.
Our prayer is that as we all engage people of other faiths, whether in college or the workplace (and sometimes in our own churches!) that hearing how others perceive the world will help us more intimately understand and draw close to Jesus.