Interfaith Council

The Interfaith Council consists of student representatives from the various religious, secular, and spiritual organizations on campus, including student clubs and organizations, that collaborate together on exciting, engaging, and dialogical experiences. Such events and activities explore the relationships between between interfaith, non-religious, and secular worldviews in order to make connections, form communities, and explore deep questions of purpose, meaning, and value.

The mission of the RIT Interfaith Council is to promote engagement that

1) empowers students to connect with the religious, spiritual, ethical, existential, and philosophical resources they need to be successful in their education and life;
2) leads to graduates who are capable of engaging and eager to work with diverse groups of people on civic issues within a religiously plural society;
3) promotes the overall spiritual wellbeing of RIT within its local community;
4) holds discussions with the intention of learning and teaching each other about the RIT-represented spiritualties and religions;
5) plans interfaith events and act as a resource for all groups within Spirituality and Religious Life.

Originally conceived in 2019 as Department 42 and rebranded in 2022, the Interfaith Council supports students as they explore the big questions of life, the universe, and everything in between. Such questions are explored like "Who am I?" "Why am I here?" "What is my purpose?" "What is a good life?" and "Is cereal soup?," all through the lens of interfaith relations, non-religious topics, and secularism. We provide activities, resources, and people to support your exploration of yourself and the various subjects within and surrouding the universe. Welcome to the Interfaith Council!

Section 1:

The IC is made up of both individual members and affiliate organizations that support the overall goals of the IC.

1: Members
A member of the IC is any RIT student actively involved in any religious, secular, and spiritual community who regularly attends and communicates with the IC. This includes, but is not limited to the following:
A. Students currently involved in any religious, secular, or spiritual club or organization affiliated with RIT;
B. Students who self-identify as members of any religious, secular, or spiritual community regardless of affiliation with the Center for Campus Life’s Clubs and Organizations (i.e., what Spirituality and Religious Life refers to as Partner Organizations);
C. Any cases of unclear constituency will come into question only in cases of harm to the organization.
D. The Executive Board of the IC will be composed of appointed and/or elected Officers from the membership, in addition to religious, secular, and spiritual organizational representatives (Affiliate Liaisons).

2: Affiliate Organizations
An affiliate organization, hereafter referred to as an Affiliate, of the IC is any verified religious, spiritual, or secular community on campus that retains status as a Student Club/Organization or Partner Organization. This includes, but is not limited to the following:
A. Student Clubs/Organizations that are classified as being religious, spiritual, or secular by the Center for Campus Life’s Clubs and Organizations office.
B. Partner Organizations that sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Spirituality and Religious Life and agree to serve students in a religious, spiritual, and/or secular manner, under the direction of chaplains and/or program staff.

Section 2:

The following bullet points represent privileges inherent to the different types of membership:
A. Any member of the IC can attend meetings, suggest events, and offer feedback.
B. Affiliates are afforded official representation within the IC to the larger student body through advocacy and the ability to seek additional funding for events with an interfaith and all-encompassing focus. Affiliates will seek official IC affiliate recognition through an annual process by filling out the Interfaith Council Affiliate Organization Recognition Form and agreeing to the stated guidelines (please see the form for potential repercussions of not abiding by the guidelines).
C. Officers serve as the primary organizing, logistical, and decision-making body and are appointed/elected officials which serve the entire IC community across campus. These members will have voting privileges on official IC business, with each role having the same weight of vote.
D. Official organizational representatives, known as Affiliate Liaisons, will be connected to a verified community on campus (Student Club/Organization or Partner Organization) and will act as a point of communication between said organization and the IC. Affiliate Liaisons selected from their connected organizations, preferably with a seat on their organization’s Executive Board or Student Board, will have voting privileges on official IC business, with each liaison having the same weight of vote.
E. Supplemental voices, also known as Non-Official Representatives, consist of anyone outlined in Section 1 who does not act as the official voice of an affiliated RIT community. If a supplemental voice represents a community without an official representative or associated organization, it will be left up to the decision of the IC to assign them voting privileges.

"Forty-two," said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm.
It was a long time before anyone spoke.
Out of the corner of his eye Phouchg could see the sea of tense expectant faces down in the square outside.
"We're going to get lynched, aren't we?" he whispered.
"It was a tough assignment," said Deep Thought mildly.
"Forty-two!" yelled Loonquawl. "Is that all you've got to show for seven and a half million years' work?"
"I checked it very thoroughly," said the computer, "and that quite definitely is the answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is."
"But it was the Great Question! The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything," howled Loonquawl.
"Yes," said Deep Thought with the air of one who suffers fools gladly, "but what actually is it?"
A slow stupefied silence crept over the men as they stared at the computer and then at each other.
"Well, you know, it's just Everything . . . everything . . ." offered Phouchg weakly.
"Exactly!" said Deep Thought. "So once you do know what the question actually is, you'll know what the answer means."

-Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (New York: Del Rey, 2009), 161-162.