“All are welcome” appears proudly at the top of the homepage of Santa Clara University’s Center for Spirituality and Faith—formerly known as Campus Ministry for more than 50 years.
Alongside the message are their three core values: gather, discern and transform. These values reflect the intention to support Catholic life while incorporating religious diversity and spiritual conversations, encouraging members of other faiths to join them in “finding God in all things.”
A Campus Ministry lives at the heart of many Catholic institutions—a center specifically curated for students of the Catholic denomination to reflect on their faith journey and relationship with God. Opportunities for leadership within the center include hosting and organizing retreats and events, as well as helping with Mass and daily operations. The center serves as an essential community for current and prospective students to explore and practice their Catholic identities, coming together through faith and service, making it an important part of the student experience. Thus, rebranding from Campus Ministry to the Center for Spirituality and Faith was a positive change, as it aligns with Santa Clara University’s Jesuit mission statement, which focuses on the education of the whole person, mind and spirit.
CSF seeks to respond to students’ need for a spiritual connection while avoiding a narrow definition of what religion means to each person. Its mission to preserve Catholic identity on campus has now broadened to address the growing need for a more welcoming space which includes other spiritual and religious beliefs.
“Religious affiliation has been dropping among young people for decades,” said Michelle Boorstein in an article with the Washington Post. “But examples abound of surging interest on college campuses.”
Santa Clara University, which prides itself on leading with “compassion for others” is exemplifying its ability to adapt to changing circumstances that require spiritual rather than strictly religious spaces for students. The new center offers an opportunity to live out Jesuit teachings rather than just speaking about them. Instead of pushing other faiths aside, CSF makes room for them at the table.
“Now everyone gets full attention. If you do not affiliate as a Catholic, you will be getting more and more opportunities,” said Flavio Olivieri Villalvazo ’27, a student intern at CSF. “Someone that you can talk to about issues that aren’t related to the Roman Church.”
This change seems to already be happening among non-Catholic students.
Being more spiritual than religious, Ameena Shafiyeva ’29 remarked that she sees the center as very “inviting” and feels “more inclined to get involved” now that it includes conversations beyond the Catholic faith.
Nevertheless, questions on how this change affects faith-based campus life are inevitable.
“I feel like this diversion does affect Catholicism on the campus because now it’s becoming more of a minority than a majority,” said Valeria Arauz ’29, a member of the Roman-Catholic faith community at the University. “We do lose that ability to connect and be united as Catholics in a sense, even though we are a Jesuit Catholic university.”
While it is true that creating an inclusive space for a diversely spiritual student body is something to celebrate, preserving Santa Clara University’s traditional Catholic identity remains equally as important.
In this transitional period, where many changes are being made for students, it is essential to ensure Catholic students still feel valued and that longstanding traditions remain. The Center for Spirituality and Faith aims to keep a healthy balance of the new and old notions of faith and identity on campus.
“At the same time that this is happening, we are also being given a priest to lead Catholic life at Santa Clara,” said Mateo Coulson ’28. “It’s hard to say that we’re losing when I feel like our gains with getting a new Jesuit to contribute to our student life are so much more powerful.”
There is no doubt that the Center for Spirituality and Faith has already captivated students with its fresh, innovative perspective on how faith should be approached on college campuses. The University is integrating a Catholic perspective in a manner that exemplifies respect for other spiritual and religious affiliations, communicating a bigger message of leading with empathy and care for others.
CSF marks a new era, one in which Catholic, Jesuit and various spiritual group values include one another in a conversation that brings together students of all backgrounds through shared and learned experiences.