Cosmopolitan tensions : religious diversity in an Australian university

Arathi Sriprakash, Adam Possamai, Ellen Brackenreg

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    3 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    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.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)227-242
    Number of pages16
    JournalAustralian Educational Researcher
    Volume41
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2014

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