Years ago, after a visit to BYU, Dr. Amir Hussain, a Muslim faculty member at Loyola Marymount University, requested a tour of the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. When he arrived at the front doors, an older gentleman kindly greeted him and guided him through the building. When they reached the hall of the prophets, Dr. Hussain realized that his tour guide was depicted in one of the portraits of the Twelve Apostles. He was surprised that such a distinguished faith leader would guide a personal tour but felt the warmth of such a kind gesture. This story represents that faith only gains strength in the act of being open to others, which is a theme that emerged in a September 2025 conference and workshop at BYU.[1]

BYU’s Moral Education Professorship and Religious Education, sponsors of the conference, sought to develop more enriching interfaith relationships and explore the place of interfaith at faith-based universities through the “Interfaith & Faith-Based Universities” conference. An impressive group of scholars, practitioners, and students from religious and secular institutions presented their work on BYU campus on September 17–18, 2025.

Faith-Based Universities

Leaders at BYU, including the Commissioner of Church Education, have championed the importance of faith-based higher education across the country. Elder Clark G. Gilbert, for example, is now cochair, with Shirley V. Hoogstra, of the Commission on Faith-Based Colleges and Universities for the American Council on Education. Part of the importance of faith-based universities, Elder Gilbert explained in a Deseret News article, is that they are “one way of preserving pluralism by preserving the particularity of religious expression in American higher education.”[2]

Like interfaith relationships on an interpersonal level, they are at their best when each institution can fully embody its unique identity while taking the approach of the other schools seriously. Gilbert also extended “praise and gratitude to the leaders of secular institutions who provide access and visibility to [faith-related] campus programs”—what he calls “faith-inclusive” universities.[3]

Following Elder Gilbert’s efforts to promote faith-based universities, we wanted to find a way to connect with other faculty and students on a personal level. We organized a conference to do just that by inviting faculty, including Dr. Hussain, and their students to BYU campus to create personal connections, faithful scholarship, and supportive networks between those working at faith-based universities.

Interfaith & Faith-Based Universities: A Conference

In early 2025, we put out a call for papers from faculty, staff, and students at faith-based institutions. The response was remarkable, and thanks to the generous support of Religious Education’s Moral Education Professorship (held by Michael MacKay) and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation, we brought nearly two dozen faculty and students together for a conference that included scholarly presentations and practical workshops.

Our conference participants hailed from faith-based and faith-inclusive universities across the nation, including Loyola Marymount University, Baylor University, Hebrew College, University of St. Thomas, St. Olaf College, Boston University, Union Theological Seminary, Boston College, Emory University, Tufts University, and Utah State University. Renowned scholars and students collaborated to discuss the strength of faith-based universities and their interfaith relationships.

Students presented case studies of the interfaith collaborations they had organized and carried out on their campuses. After working with the students and participating in their presentations, one faculty member (add college or institute they are from) explained: “The conference was exceptionally well organized and implemented from start to finish. I was particularly impressed with the caliber of students who participated—they were genuinely outstanding.”[4]

The Outcome

One scholar captured the sentiments of Dr. Hussain’s experience and aligned the conference with President C. Shane Reese’s declaration that we succeed “because of our faith mission, not in spite of our faith mission.”[5] Dr. Hans Gustafson added that a university’s rootedness in its faith mission is directly empowered by openness to others. He explained, “I think [BYU] demonstrates well how deeply confessional institutions can be leaders in interfaith engagement.”[6] BYU’s rootedness in its faith mission is recognized by all who come to campus, while its long-term efforts in interfaith—through the Richard L. Evans Chair, Student Interfaith Association, and the Council for Interfaith Engagement—stand as institutional markers of reaching out to others and welcoming them through conferences like ours.

The conference created many new relationships and fostered plans to collaborate in the future. Emory University is a leader in interreligious studies and an exemplar for interfaith practitioners. Rev. Dr. Gregory McGonigle, dean of Religious Life at Emory University, demonstrated how interfaith centers have been an important element for sustaining faith in students and faculty.[7] BYU students and faculty took notice of Dr. McGonigle’s direction and began planning visits and collaborations the following summer with him and his colleague, Dr. Soren M. Hessler.

The conference also helped well-established relationships develop further. Rev. Dr. John Thatamanil of Union Theological Seminary in New York attended after delivering our Interfaith Harmony Lecture in February 2024. After his first visit, he connected with BYU students, communicated via emails, and acted as a mentor. Dr. Hussain had fostered relationships with BYU students and faculty for years, as described earlier. In 2022 he hosted BYU faculty and students at Loyola Marymount University. Dr. Hussain is a prestigious academic, having served as the President of the American Academy of Religion.

One way we can support the vitality of faith-based universities is by bringing their faculty, staff, and students together. When we spend time together, we create institutionally supported spaces that allow us to learn from one another and form networks of caring relationships. These interpersonal relationships are the substance of all institutional relationships, securing the foundations of our universities. It leads to stronger networks between faith-based institutions, and the human encounter secures long-lasting relationships.

Notes

[1] https://religion.byu.edu/moral-education-professorship.

[2] Clark G. Gilbert, “How Faith-Based Colleges Are Saving a Generation in Crisis,” Deseret News, Aug. 30, 2025.

[3] Gilbert, “Faith-Based Colleges.”

[4] Lynn Cooper to McKay Bowman, email, September 22, 2025.

[5] Quoted from Tad Walch, “Church Schools Navigate ‘Precarious Time,’ Elder Gilbert Says in Washington, D.C.” Church News, June 5, 2024.

[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YJ6EpZioMs.

[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqidAL5-TiQ.

Sidebar

Amir Hussain

Dr. Amir Hussain is professor of theological studies at Loyola Marymount University, the Jesuit university in Los Angeles. His specialty is the study of contemporary Muslim societies in North America.

Elisabeth Rain Kincaid

Elisabeth Rain Kincaid is the director of the Institute of Faith and Learning, where she works to develop programming that integrates Christian faith and academic excellence. She is also associate professor of ethics, faith, and culture at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary and an affiliate professor of management at the Hankamer School of Business.

Hans Gustafson

Hans Gustafson, PhD, is director of the Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota), where he also teaches courses in (inter)religious studies, theology, dialogue, and leadership.

Anantanand Rambachan

Anantanand Rambachan is professor emeritus of religion at Saint Olaf College, Minnesota (1985–2021). He was also Forum Humanum Visiting Professor at the Academy for the Study of World Religions at the University of Hamburg in Germany (2013–17).

Soren M. Hessler

Soren M. Hessler is assistant professor in the practice of leadership and administration at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. Trained as a practical theologian at Boston University School of Theology, his research emerges at the intersections of theological education administration, interreligious studies, and Methodist studies.

John Thatamanil

John J. Thatamanil is Professor of Theology and World Religions at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. His areas of research include theologies of religious diversity, comparative theology, philosophical theology, and ecotheology. He is committed to seeking interreligious wisdom by learning from the practices and insights of other religious traditions.

Lynn Cooper

Lynn Cooper is the associate director of the University Chaplaincy and Catholic Chaplain at Tufts University. She holds a doctor of ministry from Boston University School of Theology and an M.Div from Harvard Divinity School.

Or N. Rose

Rabbi Or N. Rose is the founding director of the Betty Ann Greenbaum Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership of Hebrew College and a senior consultant to Interfaith America. He previously served as the associate dean for Informal Education at the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College and as cofounder and director of CIRCLE, a center for interreligious education cosponsored by Andover Newton Theological School and Hebrew College.

L. Callid Keefe-Perry

L. Callid Keefe-Perry, Ph.D. is director of Contextual Education and Assistant Professor of Public Theology at Boston College's School of Theology and Ministry. He is an endorsed public minister in The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) whose scholarship is deeply rooted in the Brazilian liberation tradition, particularly the works of Paulo Freire and Rubem Alves.

Gregory W. McGonigle

The Rev. Dr. Gregory W. McGonigle is dean of religious life and university chaplain at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he has built a multifaith chaplaincy team and opened the Emory Interfaith Center. Prior to joining Emory, he served in higher education chaplaincy at Tufts University, Oberlin College, and the University of California at Davis, as well as serving in congregational, healthcare, public health, and legal advocacy ministries.

Matthew Wickman

Matthew Wickman is professor of English at BYU. He serves as coordinator of BYU’s Faith and Imagination Institute, host of the Faith and Imagination podcast, and editor of the academic journal Literature and Belief. Since 2022, he has also served on BYU’s Council for Interfaith Engagement.

Pull quote (optional)

“The conference was exceptionally well organized and implemented from start to finish. I was particularly impressed with the caliber of students who participated—they were genuinely outstanding.” —Lynn Cooper, (title)

We succeed “because of our faith mission, not in spite of our faith mission.” —BYU President C. Shane Reese

A university’s rootedness in its faith mission is directly empowered by openness to others. —Dr. Hans Gustafson