A protest on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011, by a group of students advocating the rights of non-Christians on campus, brought the issue of an interfaith space to the forefront for administration and the Board of Trustees. An Oct. 21, 2011 meeting with President Jack Ohle, Dean of Students JoNes Van Hecke and concerned students to designate the interfaith space the protesters demanded, resulted in the establishment of Leadholm Conference Room on the lower level of the Campus Center as the temporary space. A permanent space will likely be in Anderson Social Science Center, which is expected to be finished next year.

Non-Christian interfaith events on campus vary widely. There is an interreligious observance once per month in Christ Chapel. The Gustavus Meditation group holds weekly meditation with Buddhist Monk Bhante Sathi every Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in the Faculty Staff Lounge. MOSAIC, a student group trying to increase religious awareness and literacy on campus, holds regular meetings on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. which will now occur in Leadholm Conference Room, along with special events.

Gustavus is an ELCA Lutheran affiliated school, but the college professes acceptance of other religions as well. The Admissions website claims, “The College aspires to be a community of persons from diverse backgrounds who respect and affirm the dignity of all people.” Students that advocated for the interfaith space claim the current events and dialogue are failing to meet this aspiration.

“People are accepting [of other religions], but it’s not a topic that is brought up as often as it should be,” Junior Biology and Psychology Major and Co-president of MOSAIC Joseph Dipple said.

“The ELCA tradition encourages the exploration and understanding of other faiths, so if this college is truly following the ELCA tradition, this is something that is part of that,” Junior Political Science Major and member of Gustavus Meditation Andrei Hahn said.

Dialogue and openness about religion and faith is something Dipple and Hahn hope the space will fulfill.

The Chaplain’s office recognizes this fundamental tenet that Hahn mentioned. Chaplain Rachel Larson said “ecumenical i.e., Christian, cooperation and inter-religious dialogue” is something the Chaplain’s Office strives to provide. “For the past several years the Chaplains’ Office … has advocated for such a space. We will be involved in the planning for the long-term space,” Chaplain Rachel Larson said.

“In 2008, at the direction of then Provost Mary Morton, an “Inter-religious Dialog Working Group” was established and held a series of meetings to explore this topic. In January 2009 a report was submitted … it was used as a resource for the “Faith” Task Force of the Gustavus 150 Strategic Plan,” Larson said. Students can access the report at the Chaplain’s Office.

MOSAIC plans to hold meetings in the temporary Interfaith Space, and Hahn would like to hold meditation sessions during chapel time in the room.

“We want it to be open all the time … like if a group is having something there and someone wants to come in and quietly pray to themselves, that’s totally fine,” Hahn said.

In addition, the room will hopefully become visible to populations outside of Gustavus.

“In the future, we hope it will be not only for the campus, but also for the community if [they] have a need for it. I see a college campus as a great place to experiment with interfaith,” Hahn said. “I have this vision of this huge building and you walk in and there’s a central space but then there’s all these offshoots where people can practice [their religion] … it’s an interesting environment to experiment with,” Hahn said.