Nontheistic Students on Campus: Understanding and Accommodating Them

[THP]

The number of students who do not believe in a higher power is rising, but these students often find themselves marginalized and struggle to gain acceptance on campus. Using data from the Secular Student Alliance, this article explores the interests of nonreligious nontheistic students, identifies issues these students face on campus and offers strategies for accommodating nonreligious nontheists as part of a diverse student body.In 2007, University of Northern Iowa student Cody Hashman identified a problem on his campus and decided to do something about it. "Cody noticed that when religious students come to college, they have all these groups to choose from," said Cory Derringer, current president of the UNI Freethinkers and Inquirers (UNIFI). "That option really wasn't there for nonreligious students, so he wanted to fix that" (C. Derringer, personal communication, June 8, 2011).More...

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