Religious Organizations

On any given day, tens of thousands of students trek past the notable landmarks at MU.  But none are more remarkable than Speaker’s Circle.  The brick layered arena is a forum for all those who wish to share their beliefs.  At one time, it is possible for hundreds of listeners and multiple organizations to co-exist in the circle.  And while the appearance of various organizations is assured, even more so is the chance of one of those organizations being religiously affiliated.  MU has 27 officially recognized religious student organizations, ranging from the Asian Christian Fellowship to the Muslim Student Organization.  Though the list covers much of the religious realm, the number and size of groups varies by particular religion.  Through the use of Speaker’s Circle and other venues across campus, larger organizations sometimes make daily attempts to make their presence felt.

            The Chi Alpha Campus Ministry, one of the most prominent Christianity-based organizations at MU, is one of over 300 charter groups throughout the United States.  Members are often seen offering prayer to students and participating in community service events.

            “About every other week we have a group of about 10-12 students and they just go on campus and they see if people need prayer for anything if they’re going through a hard time and they’ll just pray with them,” Director Tom Trask II said. “Make no doubt, we love people to get involved in Chi Alpha. We care more about them knowing who Jesus is.”

            One of the difficult aspects for the ministry is the ability to attract and add new members. “With other Christians, there are a lot of options. At Mizzou I think there are like 30 or 40 Christian ministries of some sort. It’s a big campus. It can be hard to get your name out,” said Trask.

            Unlike Chi Alphia Campus Ministry, Hillel at MU is one of the only organizations for its affiliated religion: Judaism.

“We here at Hillel really pride ourselves on providing programming for people that make the choice to come here on their own, we really don’t do any active recruiting, you know, I won’t go out of this building and look for people who are kind of on the fence when it comes to their faith and their religion and what they believe in,” said Brian Mitchell, Director of Hillel. “What we really provide is a center for those that have already identified themselves as Jewish, who believe in the beliefs of Judaism and have chosen to come here and be part of our program.”
Although members of Hillel do not frequent Speaker's Circle to spread beliefs, they did read names of victims of the Holocaust during Holocaust Remembrance Week in April of 2011 there.

            The MU Skeptics, Atheists, Secular Humanists and Agnostics (SASHA) has recently become a frequenter of Speaker’s Circle to expand their presence and attract members.

“Most of our meetings focus on topics of general interest to educated people, for example discussions about ethics, history, or politics,” said Vice President Dave Muscato. “We do a regular ‘Ask an Atheist’ table at Speakers' Circle in which we invite people to ask us questions about science, the scientific method, secular values and philosophy and we do hand out flyers promoting our weekly meetings then.”

SASHA differs from other MU religious organizations in that their goal is not to necessarily discuss or spread a certain belief system. 

“SASHA's three official goals, as outlined in our constitution, are to promote separation of church and state, to promote a healthy & respectable image of atheists & skeptics in our community, and to offer students at Mizzou and people in the local area the opportunity to hear a freethinking perspective on reality, rationality, and life, as an alternative to the religious student groups at Mizzou.” Muscato said.

The variety of religious organizations available at MU makes it a campus where many students can find a comfortable place for purposes other than religion as well.

“Some people make their childhood religion a part of their college experience, but in my opinion, it's usually for social reasons, and sometimes also for the sake of memorable experiences,” said Muscato. 
Whether it is for the experience, socialization or spiritual fulfillment, MU students have a bevy of opportunities when it comes to religion. 

For a list of all of the religious organizations at the University of Missouri visit MizzouDiversity