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Faith based services provide access to activities, events and counselling that allow students to pursue spiritual growth and development. Many campuses offer multi-faith spaces, ministering to those who identify with a specific religious group or those who consider themselves spiritual but not religious.[1]
Many Canadian universities offer multi-faith chaplaincy services. Chaplains may offer faith-specific support and counselling for students, staff, and faculty dealing with stress, grief or loneliness, or they can be present for non-religious students with questions about faith and for those wrestling with spiritual meaning in their lives. Overall, chaplains are committed to supporting the spiritual well-being of the university community using a holistic approach. Chaplains can run worship services, social events, or meal programs.[2] Universities may offer multi-faith rooms for prayer or reflection.
The need for pastoral services in secular universities can be traced back to the writings ofJohn Henry Newman advocating for societies ofCatholic students to be established at secular universities in England. The rising popularity of public universities in many parts of the world oversectarianprivate universities also necessitated a need for Christian ministerial services for students. At the same time Christian churches in the vicinity of colleges and universities may provide worship and ministerial services to local students.[citation needed]
In the United States there are about 250 CatholicNewman Centers that minister to Catholic students at public universities. They trace their origin to the Newman movement and are ministered bylaypeople, localparishes, orreligious institutes.[3] More recently,lay apostolates such as theFellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), established in 1997, are ministering to and re-evangelizing Catholic university students and young adults.[4]
LDS Student Association ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Protestant Christian andecumenical groups following their establishment also created ministries especially focused on evangelizing students. One most recognizable group isCru, originally known as Campus Crusade for Christ, aninterdenominational Christian ministry established in 1951 on the campus ofUCLA which has ministries in over a thousand universities.[5] Various other evangelical groups have worldwide networks of campus ministries including theInternational Fellowship of Evangelical Students,World Student Christian Federation, andThe Navigators. Often Protestant denominations will also have a related para-church student fellowship ministry or college group directly or indirectly affiliated with theirdenomination, sometimes named by it. Additionally, independent churches will often have college ministries which may extend onto constituent college campuses in the form of astudent organization.List of multi-campusprotestant college ministries: