Interfaith Engagement
Interfaith engagement brings people together across religious, spiritual, and secular differences to learn from one another, build relationships, and contribute to a more understanding community.
At the Compass Center, interfaith engagement is not about asking people to set aside their beliefs or agree on everything. It is about creating opportunities for people to speak honestly from their own identities, listen with curiosity, and learn how to engage difference with respect and care.
Our work includes dialogue, shared learning, leadership development, public programs, community partnerships, and advocacy for religious inclusion across campus.
Our approach
We believe meaningful interfaith engagement begins with relationships. It creates space for people to share their own experiences while remaining open to the experiences and commitments of others.
Compass Center programs invite participants to:
- Learn about religious, spiritual, and secular worldviews
- Build relationships across different identities and commitments
- Ask thoughtful and respectful questions
- Reflect on their own beliefs, values, and experiences
- Develop the skills to navigate disagreement and difference
- Work together around shared concerns and community needs
Our interfaith goals
Through interfaith engagement, the Compass Center seeks to:
- Build interfaith community: Create relationships and a sense of belonging across religious, spiritual, and secular differences.
- Enhance religious literacy: Help members of the Butler community develop a deeper understanding of religious traditions, spiritual practices, and secular worldviews.
- Develop interfaith leadership: Prepare students to lead conversations, programs, and communities with curiosity, humility, and respect for difference.
Interfaith Council
The Interfaith Council brings together students from different academic years, majors, religious traditions, spiritual identities, and secular perspectives for dinner, conversation, and leadership development.
Council members build relationships across difference, develop interfaith leadership skills, explore questions of meaning and purpose, and help create opportunities for wider campus engagement.
Programs and opportunities
Series on Religion and Society
The Series on Religion and Society brings scholars, practitioners, and community leaders to Butler for public conversations about religion and its role in contemporary life.
A New View Film Series
A New View uses film and facilitated conversation to explore religion, culture, identity, and important questions facing our communities.
Multifaith and community events
The Compass Center hosts and partners on gatherings that create opportunities for celebration, learning, dialogue, and connection across religious and cultural differences.
Religious inclusion at Butler
Interfaith engagement also includes helping create a campus where religious identities, practices, and observances are understood and respected.
The Compass Center provides support and resources related to religious accommodations, inclusive event planning, religious holidays, and practices that affect student life.
Get involved
You do not need to be an expert in religion or belong to a particular tradition to participate in interfaith engagement. Curiosity, openness, and a willingness to listen are enough places to begin.
Attend a program, apply to the Interfaith Council, invite the Compass Center into a class or organization, or contact us to explore a partnership.