In 2014, a news related to religious recruiting in campuses emerged. Although, the phenomenon wasn’t new, but it surely raised great concerns. The recruitment of British campuses by evangelical groups was reported. Similarly, it was reported campus students being targeted by various cult organizations in the past. A religious group with no strong associations with UR was found recruiting students in campuses. Students reported that they were attempted to recruit for a study group off campus related to Bible. Students who joined the group were reported absent from campus for four to five hours. This raised significant security concerns for the campus’s Dean and teachers as they fear practicing of cult by such religious groups. All of these news show that religious recruitment on campus doesn’t work.
Numerous campaigns are being run by universities against the religious recruitment. Universities are being stimulated to carefully think regarding the challenges faced by religious recruitment on campuses. Also, it was found that in various growing immigrant communities the concept of faith was even quite string especially among the students. These students perceived religion as no spiritual or private matter. So far the factor of religion is being ignored through the discipline and maintenance of international relations. Religious assumptions and voices have only been limited to discussions about sexuality and gender. Religion is only perceived as a public good and its role related to national identity, national ceremonies, cultural heritage, social well-being and ethical voice is considered, not to recruitment for joining any cult groups.
In addition to this, religiously committed individuals and groups are perceived as strangers by most of the students. In order to avoid religious recruitment at campuses, various policy implications have also taken place in campuses. Numerous struggles are also made in order to counter challenging sexuality and gender issues that are misinterpreted with religions at times. Also, universities are striving hard to limit the phenomenon of religion only to intellectual discussion instead of a threat. Further, campuses have started acknowledging the minorities groups that are studying there, along with it, they are also offering them recognition. Acknowledgment of minority groups helps in preventing young students from getting into religious involvement at extreme levels.
Other than this, the Bowdin Christian Fellowship have also been banished from the Bowdin College. In the collision between the antidiscrimination policies and the religious freedom, the volunteer of the evangelicals has been disabled by the college. On a handful of campuses similar conflicts have taken place with the objective to get campuses free of bias factors. The largest university system comprising of 23 campuses and 450,000 students at Cal State withdrew the official recognition of evangelical groups. Students are expected to discard their personal religious commitments in pursuing qualities of leadership. Non-discrimination policies are being signed by religious groups at most universities. The evangelical groups have lost access to fees money generated through student activities and to recruiting tools on-campus.
