Religious & Spiritual Life at Queens
Religious & Spiritual Life at Queens
Queens University of Charlotte recognizes the integral relationship between mind, body and spirit, encouraging students to nourish each in healthy and balanced ways. Students are encouraged to draw from their spiritual wells while being enriched through the encounter with people who draw from different wells. The Spiritual Life team works collaboratively across Queens to create brave spaces in which faculty, staff, and students critically and openly engage with diverse religious, spiritual, and secular worldviews.
Aligned with our commitment to DEI at Queens, the chaplain’s office reflects a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, including religious, spiritual and secular diversity, in every component of its life.
If you would like to connect with a religious, spiritual or secular community, either within the Queens community or the wider community, please contact the Chaplain for options that may meet your requirements.
Presbyterian and Pluralist Statement
We affirm the Queens ties, established at our founding in 1857, with the Presbyterian Church (USA). This tradition has embedded core values such as service, intellectual curiosity, and commitment to the common good in Queens’ institutional culture. Thus, the Queens community promotes civic good by fostering knowledge and nurturing relationships among people of different religious and philosophical worldviews. This pluralistic approach lies at the heart of the transformative educational experience Queens provides.
Presbyterian Church (USA)
The Presbyterian Church is anchored in the Reformed tradition, which is marked by historical, theological, and institutional commitments to education for the common good and the dignity of all people. Thus, our pluralistic approach is because of our heritage, not in spite of it.
Queens Community
Our community is student-centered, diverse, and inclusive of all people. Thus, our faculty, staff, alumni, and community partners nurture the student journey through transformative encounters across all kinds of differences—including religious and philosophical worldviews.
Civic Good
The Queens education equips students—in the classroom, on campus, and beyond—to care for the world to which we belong. Our motto, “Not to be served, but to serve,” connects this goal to Christian tradition while promoting service that extends to all people.
Fostering Knowledge
As an academic institution, we value both appreciative inquiry and critical appraisal as we explore core teachings (book knowledge) as well as the diverse human expression of those world views (personal and socio-political knowledge).
Nurturing Relationships
At Queens, we affirm the deeply relational nature of learning, which extends beyond academic instruction. Campus organizations such as Belk Chapel, the Stan Greenspon Center, and DICE (Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement), help build bridges of understanding and cooperation across different world views.
Religious & Philosophical World Views
Members of the Queens community understand “ultimate concerns” in diverse ways. Many find life’s meaning through religious worldviews, while others do not. Our life together, both at Queens and in the wider world, depends on our ability to probe and reflect on our common humanity, in light of shared and disparate views.
Pluralistic Approach
Religious pluralism goes beyond mere tolerance to promote conversation and collaboration across differences. By understanding others on their own terms, we appreciate both our common values and our distinctive convictions. Pluralism enables us to value one another, to work together, and to disagree well.
Five Pillars Grounding the Office of the Chaplain
The Office of the Chaplain is anchored on five pillars:
Civic Good
The Queens education equips students—in the classroom, on campus, and beyond—to care for the world to which we belong. Our motto, “Not to be served, but to serve,” connects this goal to Christian tradition while promoting service that extends to all people.
Fostering Knowledge
As an academic institution, we value both appreciative inquiry and critical appraisal as we explore core teachings (book knowledge) as well as the diverse human expression of those world views (personal and socio-political knowledge).
Nurturing Relationships
At Queens, we affirm the deeply relational nature of learning, which extends beyond academic instruction. Campus organizations such as Belk Chapel, the Stan Greenspon Center, and DICE (Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement), help build bridges of understanding and cooperation across different world views.
Religious & Philosophical World Views
Members of the Queens community understand “ultimate concerns” in diverse ways. Many find life’s meaning through religious world views, while others do not. Our life together, both at Queens and in the wider world, depends on our ability to probe and reflect on our common humanity, in light of shared and disparate views.
Pluralistic Approach
Religious pluralism goes beyond mere tolerance to promote conversation and collaboration across difference. By understanding others on their own terms, we appreciate both our common values and our distinctive convictions. Pluralism enables us to value one another, to work together, and to disagree well.
