TY - JOUR
T1 - Cosmopolitan tensions : religious diversity in an Australian university
AU - Sriprakash, Arathi
AU - Possamai, Adam
AU - Brackenreg, Ellen
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - This paper examines ideas of cosmopolitanism, particularly social theorists’ interests in a cosmopolitan ‘disposition’, to consider how religiously diverse students experience campus life in a multi-faith Australian university. We draw on data from focus-group interviews conducted with students from Muslim, Christian, Spiritual, and Atheist student-groups to contribute empirical insights into theoretical debates about cosmopolitanism. We show how students understand religious relations in a university campus in multiple ways; moving back and forth between relations of religious openness and tension in different institutional scenarios. In light of these findings, we reflect on the possibilities of fostering ‘cosmopolitan religiosity’ in higher-education settings and demonstrate the limits of a liberal multicultural approach to religious diversity.
AB - This paper examines ideas of cosmopolitanism, particularly social theorists’ interests in a cosmopolitan ‘disposition’, to consider how religiously diverse students experience campus life in a multi-faith Australian university. We draw on data from focus-group interviews conducted with students from Muslim, Christian, Spiritual, and Atheist student-groups to contribute empirical insights into theoretical debates about cosmopolitanism. We show how students understand religious relations in a university campus in multiple ways; moving back and forth between relations of religious openness and tension in different institutional scenarios. In light of these findings, we reflect on the possibilities of fostering ‘cosmopolitan religiosity’ in higher-education settings and demonstrate the limits of a liberal multicultural approach to religious diversity.
UR - http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/545975
U2 - 10.1007/s13384-013-0123-y
DO - 10.1007/s13384-013-0123-y
M3 - Article
SN - 0311-6999
VL - 41
SP - 227
EP - 242
JO - Australian Educational Researcher
JF - Australian Educational Researcher
IS - 3
ER -