Meeting Jesus at University

Edward Dutton, Guest Lecturer, Oulu University, Finland.

• Contents: Preface; The corridor where Jesus lived; Re-converting at Oxford; 'The course Caribbean nations take will partly depend on us'; 'Trial by fire' at universities in the USA; The 'Christian' ceilidh; 'We're just ordinary students who are also Christians'; Trying to find the core; Why Jesus chose that corridor; Bibliography; Index.

'The significance of student Christian groups for the spiritual development of young adults is widely acknowledged, and here Dr Edward Dutton explores the nature of their influence and the way in which this connects with other aspects of university life. A major strength of this work is its international perspective, drawing on ethnographic research from six different locations around the world. The combination of individual stories with discussion of wider methodological issues in the study of religion provides invaluable understandings of the nature of student Christian societies as well as offering social scientists new tools with which to reflect on a little understood aspect of university life'. John Drane, author of The McDonaldization of the Church 'This comparative and international study touches the heart of religious identity as shaped by social class, life-contexts that hinder or foster maturity, and by the actual nature of each university. Pivoting around anthropological ideas of liminality in rites of passage it describes different kinds of uncertainty surrounding younger adults as they may move away from home, encounter religious groups and begin to develop a sense of life's meaning. It seeks to offer an Applied Anthropology that may feed back into evangelical groups and the way they believe they Meet Jesus at University.' Douglas Davies, Durham University, UK 'Meeting Jesus at University is one of the rare books that will be influential both for the academic anthropological community and that of the practising Christian. This book will also be an essential text for those who seek to develop Christianity in universities, giving them a better understanding of why particular types of approach will be more or less successful depending on the nature of the academic institution. I highly recommend this book as both an engaging and informative contribution.' Seth D Kunin, Durham University, UK ’[Dutton's] conclusions are set out with careful anal