Engaging graduate students in inter-religion dialogue in campuses across Boston

(Posted on behalf of a student in the course)

Background

Christian Fellowship* is an inter-denominational, Christian student-led ministry which for more than 60 years has been involved in establishing witnessing communities on college and university campuses in the U.S. and the world. In the 2012-2013 school year, 1000 campus staff members worked with over 38,000 students and faculty in 900 graduate and undergraduate chapters on 600 campuses in the United States. In Boston, CF has 11 graduate chapters in respective graduate schools. Their purpose statement is two-fold: 1) to establish witnessing Christian communities in different campuses and 2) engage in intellectual exploration and dialogue with different religious groups in academia. Every year, CF organizes a fall weekend retreat in western Massachusetts for graduate students in the Boston area. During the weekend, students have the opportunity to meet other students and participate in different workshops. These encompass topics such as work ethics to science and religion, and also feature talks by notable speakers, academics and professionals. However, because of the short length of most graduate programs (9-18 months) and the mobility of graduate students and young professionals, CF has not succeeded in building a solid Boston based community. Apart from this annual event, CF student leaders and members only sporadically interact throughout the academic year. Empirical observations show that they form strong campus clusters with little or no communication between them. In addition, three out of the eleven graduate CF chapters organize their own major annual discussion events on religion on their local campuses (called The Truth Forums), and seek contribution from the community.

The Study

This social network analysis will seek to answer two questions. First, what will be revealed about the connections within/for a religious Fellowship? By using network analysis to gain insights into the CF network before, during and after the fall retreat, it may be possible to observe how trends in relationships reflect or impact networking within the broader Boston community. By repeating the survey one year after the fall retreat, in addition to the fall retreat analysis, observations can be made about the longevity and strength of relationships formed from events that bring the whole community together. These observations would benefit the organizing teams of The Truth Forums to recruit, mobilize and manage their volunteers, but also advertise the events within the community. Second, what are the implications for broader Christian Fellowship networks across the US? By considering how patterns within strong campus communities fit into the Boston network (for instance the group of medical professionals within one campus or liberal arts students across Cambridge), it may be possible to draw additional observations about the nature of their relationships within bigger regions (New England, Mid-Atlantic etc). Attributes and connections would be surveyed before, during and after the fall retreat. We will look into age, sex, major, nationality, personal interests and denomination.

Methodology

The study performs a classic two-mode social network analysis between full-time students enrolled in graduate programs across Boston. The network is comprised of eleven Christian Fellowship chapters. In order to identify the most powerful ties between those chapters, students will reply to a series of questions regarding their interaction with fellow students before, during and after at the fall retreat, as well as the participation in earlier or future common events. By examining the patterns of the students that are present (or absent) at certain events, it is possible to infer an underlying pattern of social ties, factions, and groupings among the community.

This project will be based on "The duality of persons and groups" study of Davis and Breiger (1974) and will measure relations at the micro (ego networks) and macro (cliques, Christian Fellowship level) within the Christian Fellowship (centrality, betweenness, closeness). It will also look into weak (Granovetter) and strong ties (Krackhardt), and the main reasons behind the empirical hypothesis of the formation of strong friendships – philia – within smaller campus groups. Finally, it will examine the gaps within the network as well as the lost opportunities.

A potential limitation in collecting data for analysis would be that the student population in Boston changes frequently. Therefore, many of the key ties might leave or have already left Boston when the results will be evaluated. However, the main patterns may remain the same.

Required Data Attributes Gender Age Major Personal Interests Denomination Local Church Undergraduate Education Nationality Other Campus Groups / Affiliations Extracurricular Activities Neighborhood Social Media Groups

Networks Individuals who knew each before the retreat Individuals who formed relationships within the retreat Relationships that lasted after the retreat Individuals who know members of other religious organizations in the Boston area

Analysis This study provides an insight into the patterns of formation and sustainability of religious groups within US university campuses. Academia is the perfect environment for dialogue between religious groups that may lead to true understanding. Robert J. Nash, argued that “American universities ought to enlarge their understanding of pluralism to include open, challenging, spiritually and educationally revitalizing conversations about genuine religious differences.” The project will benefit CF by depicting its current network in Boston, but could add to current research on the interaction of religious groups within an academic setting.

Sources CF student databases Robert J. Nash, “Religious Pluralism in the Academy: Opening the Dialogue”, Peter Lang Publishing, New York (2001)

*names and dates have been changed for privacy reasons