Miami University

5/709

Peter Magolda, professor of educational leadership at Miami University, and Kelsey Gross, academic advisor at the University of Michigan and graduate of the Miami's College Student Personnel master’s program, co-authored a book titled It’s All About Jesus!: Faith as an Oppositional Collegiate Subculture (2009, Stylus Publishing, Sterling, VA).

The book presents the findings of a two-year ethnographic study of collegians involved in a Christian organization on a public university campus.

The authors, who are non-evangelicals, provide a glimpse into the lives of students who subscribe to an evangelical way of life. They examine students’ pre-college evangelical experiences as well as an evangelical student organization’s recruitment strategies, worship services, Bible study meetings, evangelical training, and leadership opportunities.

The narratives and theoretical interpretations, which focus on how the organization uses faith to oppose both more powerful evangelical groups and secular non-believers, enrich understanding of an evangelical student organization’s political agenda and spark discussion about the value of faith-based organizations within public higher education.

The authors look at the role of Christian organizations in students’ lives, the political agendas of the organizations, and how such organizations mobilize members. Ironically, while Christian students represent the religious majority on the campus studied, Christian organizations mobilize members by capitalizing on members’ shared sense of marginalization, and position themselves as cultural outsiders.

“Magolda and Gross have composed a compelling ethnography that immerses the reader in a collegiate student subculture that few have had the opportunity to observe or experience in such an ‘up close and personal’ way,” said one reviewer.

The role of religion in public higher education, student involvement in the co-curriculum, and peer education are examples of critical issues in higher education for which this book offers broad understanding. The book raises questions about the optimal equilibrium between the secular and the sacred within public education, what constitutes safe space for evangelical students, and who should provide this space.