{"title":"Religion, Religious Climate, and Students’ Sense of Belonging in a South African University","authors":"Yaw Owusu-Agyeman, Semira Pillay","doi":"10.1163/15700666-12340283","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Informed by a social constructionist approach, this study examines the relationship between religion, institutional religious climate, and students’ sense of belonging in a university in South Africa. Data were gathered and analysed from a sample of 2026 students who completed a survey that included an open-ended section. The results revealed that students’ perceptions of institutional religious climate are directly associated with their sense of belonging, supportive campus environment, and cross-cultural interaction. Also, while the religious beliefs of students are strengthened by their interaction with colleagues and staff from diverse cultures, they also develop a sense of belonging when they freely practice their religious beliefs in an institution that promotes religious diversity. The study concludes that a positive institutional religious climate could enhance students’ religious experiences, encourage religious freedom, and create students’ sense of belonging.","PeriodicalId":45604,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF RELIGION IN AFRICA","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4000,"publicationDate":"2023-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"JOURNAL OF RELIGION IN AFRICA","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700666-12340283","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"RELIGION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract Informed by a social constructionist approach, this study examines the relationship between religion, institutional religious climate, and students’ sense of belonging in a university in South Africa. Data were gathered and analysed from a sample of 2026 students who completed a survey that included an open-ended section. The results revealed that students’ perceptions of institutional religious climate are directly associated with their sense of belonging, supportive campus environment, and cross-cultural interaction. Also, while the religious beliefs of students are strengthened by their interaction with colleagues and staff from diverse cultures, they also develop a sense of belonging when they freely practice their religious beliefs in an institution that promotes religious diversity. The study concludes that a positive institutional religious climate could enhance students’ religious experiences, encourage religious freedom, and create students’ sense of belonging.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Religion in Africa was founded in 1967 by Andrew Walls. In 1985 the editorship was taken over by Adrian Hastings, who retired in 1999. His successor, David Maxwell, acted as Executive Editor until the end of 2005. The Journal of Religion in Africa is interested in all religious traditions and all their forms, in every part of Africa, and it is open to every methodology. Its contributors include scholars working in history, anthropology, sociology, political science, missiology, literature and related disciplines. It occasionally publishes religious texts in their original African language.