Central to religious life at Rice University are the number of student faith groups that are generally led by the Joint Campus Ministers (JCMs). These ministers come from the community outside of the university and, for the most part, have their own congregations away from Rice. The group of JCMs meets twice each semester, however attendance of these meetings is not compulsory, and collaboration between different ministers is often limited.
What is more concerning is the fact that the JCMs only include representatives from two faith groups: Christians and Jews. This means that students who practice faith outside of the Judeo-Christian tradition have to go away from the campus to find any level of spiritual guidance.
The university also has the Boniuk Center for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance which also plays a part in the religious landscape on campus. However, the centre’s focus has been to bring interfaith engagement in the Houston community rather than to promote spiritual wellness among Rice students and on the campus itself. Therefore the Boniuk Center does not currently take responsibility for promoting spiritual wellbeing at the university.
This is a worrying situation for the university when you consider that so many of the student population take faith very seriously. Universities need to understand that their students’ spiritual wellbeing is very important and that adequate guidance should be made available to ensure that they feel happy in their situation.