University of Missouri-Columbia

Working Group Reports: Religious Pluralism

Please Note: These reports were produced by working group teams participating in the MizzouDiversity Summit. There may be errors in some of the data provided and the viewpoints presented reflect the beliefs and opinions of the working group teams but do not necessarily represent the official positions of the Chancellor's Diversity Initiative or the University of Missouri.

Robert Baum
Amy White
Geoff Brooke
Julie Feeney
Joseph Hammer
Yuhong He
Lisa Prettyman-Gage

Positives

Department and Center
Multiple organizations
Diverse community

Problems

Lack of diversity requirement in most colleges
Attitudes toward existing courses
Rights in conflict: freedom of religion vs. discipline-specific theories of knowledge
Campus climate

Confrontational behavior
Respect for existing belief systems

Obstacles to resolution

External views of religious pluralism
Institutional inertia; religion not a priority
Conflicting views of the role of religion in a public university

Means of resolution

Academic
- Diversity requirement
Campus climate
- Interfaith dialogue/activities
- Various ways to participate
- Publicity

Working Groups Reports

Sponsored by the Chancellor's Diversity Initiative