Higher education institutes are traditionally places where students have the freedom to express themselves, their interests and explore complex and sometimes controversial ideas. With the wide mix of students and staff members, it's inevitable that religion, a major feature in global politics and everyday life, becomes a central component for so many students.
The first universities in Europe were set up by the church and as a result religion was integral. In fact, it wasn't until 1826 that the first secular university was founded in the UK. Universities have evolved dramatically over the years and are now widely secular and seek to encourage and facilitate freedom of expression.
In a move which appears to go against universities' championing freedom of expression, a number of German universities have made the decision to close their Muslim prayer rooms. Theclosures have been interpreted by many as a crackdown on religious freedom. To date, three leading universities in Germany have closed their prayer rooms, citing the increased availability of prayer facilities in the surrounding areas.
It's undeniable that there are plenty of places for religious people pray outside of university but using this to support the closure of faith rooms on campus shows a lack of understanding of how people approach their faith. Yes, there are set times and days for religious observance in many faiths but a lot of believers also take time out during the day to pray and making the journey off campus to another location may not always be possible.
Christian Thompsen, head of the technical university of Berlin, the latest university to follow the trend, said the decision to close the prayer rooms on campus came down to the fundamental question of, "Do we want religious facilities at our universities?". He implied that the answer was no and added, "I think higher education and religion should be kept separate".
The church no longer has the same involvement in higher education as it did many years ago but religion is still an important part of daily life for many students and staff. Closing prayer rooms doesn't remove the presence of religion on campus but it does send out a negative message to those who use them.While a number of German universities are closing their prayer rooms, Cologne University is going against the trend and has recently opened up a 'stillness room' for all religions. Multi-faith facilities, like the one which is being introduced by Cologne, are a common feature in UK universities and they help to create cohesion between different religious groups. In the absence of single-faith prayer facilities, many workplaces and higher education institutes will often have a multi-faith space.
Although higher education has come a long way from the early influence of the church, the decision to try and keep religion and higher education separate is futile. We live in an extremely multi-cultural society and we should make the effort to accommodate staff and students who are religious. The German universities changing their prayer room policies may think that their decisions are symbolic of progress but it seems more like regression. Sending out the message that religion isn't welcome on campus will lead many to question whether the religious are welcome. Instead of removing the prayer rooms from campus, the universities could have followed in the footsteps of Cologne and so many other institutions and developed a multi-faith space to improve relations between believers andchampionreligious freedom, especially at a time when religious tensions are high.
