Inclusivity On Campus? Students of Minority Religions Search for Their Place at Davidson

In 1970, over 90 percent of the Davidson student body were Christian. There were three Jewish students, three Buddhists, one Hindu and zero Muslim students. In the 52 years since, religious diversity at the school has evolved significantly and for the 2022-2023 school year, there are over 200 combined Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Buddhists on campus.

However, the environment remains predominantly Christian, due both to the largely Christian student body and the identity of the college as a Presbyterian institution. The Rev. Rob Spach, the College Chaplain and Director of Religious and Spiritual Life, works with any and all students, including those for whom the Davidson community has not felt inclusive.

“Some students find it very difficult when they arrive at Davidson,” Spach said. “They have been in a context in which they were either the majority, or they were, you know, a very large part of a plurality. They get here and they encounter a lot of Christian students who are very deeply committed to their faith. And at times, students can be taken aback, because culturally, it feels very different.”

Throughout his time at Davidson, Spach has sought to cultivate and sustain a welcoming atmosphere for these students and the community as a whole.

“We want to create an environment in which while we’re supporting each particularity, we have a very pluralistic environment and are respectful of one another and can learn from one another. We hope that it would be an uplifting religious and spiritual climate for everyone,” Spach said.

The experiences students of minority religions have at Davidson varies greatly. For some, the support of the Chaplain’s office has been uplifting.

Safwan Islam ‘24 is president of the Muslim Student’s Association (MSA). Although the Muslim community at Davidson is small, Islam does not see that as a strike against the school.

“My ideal version of a religion is not that everybody around me is exactly the same as me, or I’m surrounded by a predominantly

Muslim population,” Islam said. “I feel like if that were the case, then I wouldn’t really be able to grow in my faith and question things and come out the other end stronger. Being a minority actually has definitely challenged my faith, but I think I’ve been able to come out of it a stronger Muslim.”

Islam, and MSA as a whole, has flourished alongside assistance from the Chaplain’s office.

“The class right below us had a bunch [of Muslims] in the freshman class. This year, there’s about six or seven who are consistent [members of MSA]. So the future, at least for MSA at Davidson, is looking pretty bright.”

Davidson Dharma, the Buddhist group on campus, has also seen growth in the past years— particularly due to the work of Buddhist Chaplain Ivan Mayerhofer.

“We work closely with the Buddhist chaplain, and we’re grateful to have one on campus,” said Davidson Dharma CoPresident, Cassandra Blau ‘23. “He comes to our weekly meetings. Having that support from the administration, in that way, in the form of Ivan is helpful to us.”

On a more personal level, following Buddhism on campus appears to be a more individual practice compared to other organized religions.

“We don’t have to have a very stable, weekly or daily routine,” said Co-President Kaiyan Wang ‘24. “We don’t have to pray or anything. I think it’s basically just what you want.”

Life within Davidson’s predominantly Christian environment has felt more alienating for some than others.

Zuber Chawla ‘25 is the only self-identified Sikh at Davidson. By nature, his time here has felt isolating in terms of practicing his religion.

“I was expecting this,” Chawla said. “I don’t think it’s been very hard because I feel the religion itself and the way I practice is personal, it’s more about what I do. The only thing that’s really missing is the opportunity to volunteer and visit a physical temple.”

While limited in his religious observance, Chawla often feels the need to alter his practices because of those around him.

“Mostly I practice in my room,” Chawla said. “When I wake up in the morning for 20 minutes, I chant from the religious texts and meditate for about two, three minutes to start my day, and at night again right before I sleep. Unfortunately, my roommate sleeps really early. I kind of just say the words in my head. Because I have to.”

Nina Worley ‘26 is a Jewish student from New York City. Worley initially saw the greater ideological diversity of Davidson as a benefit to her.

“I was excited to go to Davidson in the sense that I was really put in a liberal echo chamber my entire life, which I appreciated at times, but I didn’t think as somebody who was studying policy, that would be good for me,” Worley said. “And so I thought, coming to Davidson, hearing other opinions for students and having to really form strong arguments against them, that was going to be necessary.”

Worley’s high spirits did not last, as she dealt with an environment she found to be unaccommodating. Her feelings were compounded when opening up to a professor.

“I expressed to them that a microaggression I felt .. was that a lot of the time, especially in the first few weeks of school, people would [ask].. ‘Oh, do you know, so and so?’ I was like, ‘No’. And they’re like, ‘Well, they’re Jewish, too.’” [I thought] ‘Do you think I know every Jewish person on this campus?’ And when I was talking to this professor…. it was not something I came at all prepared to deal with [coming from New York], they were like ‘oh that’s not a microaggression,’” Worley said.

Worely continued to describe the experience of other Jewish students on campus, and was once again met with aloofness.

“When I went on to tell this professor about other things that have not happened to me, but to other students on campus, I think they weren’t comfortable, so this was a reaction to being uncomfortable, but they laughed,” Worley said. “It was incredibly condescending, and made me feel almost as if I had interpreted things wrong.”

Worley’s time at Davidson has led her to confront different elements of her identity.

“I feel like I’ve become more religious coming to Davidson, which I didn’t expect at all, actually,” Worley said. “But I think it forced me to pick one of my identities more than the other. I think people more so know me to be Jewish rather than Latina and Argentinian, which is kind of weird to me because that wasn’t what it was like in high school.”

Worley is not alone in questioning her identity. Yutika Patel ‘26, who identifies as Hindu, said her experience at Davidson has been more cultural than religious.

“I grew up Hindu and here at Davidson, I feel like I still identify as Hindu for sure,” Patel said. “But I’ve been practicing less, since I don’t really feel like I’ve made the space for myself to be religious.”

Patel attributes her experience to the newness of college.

“I’m in a new space. I’m figuring out who I am, it’s not like a bad thing. I guess. It’s just kind of something that I have to figure out myself now.”

Spach recognizes the barriers many students face when it comes to practicing or observing their religion.

“There’s also the reality that Davidson is not, by any means, a large enough place with enough diversity, to be able to provide some of the important pieces of religious practice that you might find either at a larger institution, or an institution that had much greater numbers of students from certain traditions,” Spach said.

However, he emphasizes that Davidson’s identity as a Presbyterian college can serve as an asset in cultivating a welcoming campus atmosphere instead of an obstacle.

“From the beginning, Presbyterians were always what we might call an ecumenical tradition, which means we have never thought that we have the whole truth or sole possession of the truth, or that we’re the right way to be religious,” Spach said. “We’ve always believed that our own understanding is limited. It’s limited by our culture and our historical circumstances. So we need to be open to people who practice in other ways because we can learn from them.”

Spach reiterated the importance of religious diversity at the college.

“I think we need more religious diversity. But what we have now is a wonderful gift to this institution’s life. And it’s a wonderful expression of what it means to be a Presbyterian Church related College, in the 21st century.”