Engaging Religious Minority Students

In this chapter, we examine how Christian dominance and privilege continue to shape U.S. higher education, often marginalizing students from religious minority groups. Despite national commitments to diversity and inclusion, campus policies and practices frequently reinforce Christian norms while overlooking the needs of students from traditions such as Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Sikhism. To address these dynamics, we draw on three frameworks: campus climate model, multidimensional model of spirituality and religiousness, and the minoritized religious and spiritual campus climate. Together, these frameworks illuminate how students develop religious and spiritual identities while navigating institutional structures that shape belonging, engagement, and marginalization. We offer evidence-based recommendations for policy and practice, including recognizing student organizations, developing themed housing, designating prayer and interfaith spaces, implementing mentorship, reducing systemic barriers in hiring, addressing discrimination, and fostering student–faculty partnerships. These strategies affirm students’ identities, promote interfaith engagement, and integrate students’ lived experiences into institutional growth. Ultimately, creating religiously inclusive campuses is not only an equity imperative but also foundational to students’ holistic development and belonging. We call on higher education leaders to move beyond individual accommodations toward systemic change that centers the resilience, agency, and leadership of religiously minoritized students.