Office for Religious & Spiritual Life

The mission of the Office for Religious and Spiritual Life is to support Occidental students, faculty and staff in their pursuit of a vibrant and meaningful religious and spiritual life while engaging religious pluralism with a commitment to mutual respect, awareness and dialogue.

We encourage students to consider how their spiritual development intersects with their intellectual growth. The office hosts a variety of events, including retreats, study breaks, opportunities to engage in spiritual practice including walking the labyrinth every Wednesday, the Interfaith Thanksgiving Lunch, and the Interfaith Baccalaureate Service. For more information about our events, visit our events page.

Resources for Food Insecurity and Economic Hardship

The Office for Religious and Spiritual Life has compiled a list of resources for individuals and families experiencing food insecurity or economic hardship due to the pandemic. If you have information about additional resources that we can add to this list, please contact Rev. Dr. Susan Young, the Director for Religious and Spiritual Life, at young@oxy.edu. Our office has tried to confirm that the information provided here is as up to date as possible. Please notify Rev. Dr. Young if you find that any of this information is inaccurate.

Islam: Beliefs, Practices, & Ethics - Spring 2026 Muslim Student Life Fellowship

The Office for Religious and Spiritual Life invites students to apply for the Muslim Student Life Fellowship facilitated by Imam Rushdan Mujahid-Deen, MDiv, the Occidental Muslim Student Life Coordinator. The Muslim Student Life Fellowship is a 10-week formative learning community focused on exploring Islam’s beliefs, practices, and ethical framework within the context of personal development, leadership, and ethics.

Using the Qur’an, Sunnah, Sirah, and contemporary scholarship, students will examine Islam as a coherent moral and spiritual tradition shaping individual conduct and communal responsibility. Students will learn about core Islamic beliefs and ethical implications, analyze Islamic practices as moral formation, apply Islamic ethical principles to contemporary life, and integrate belief, practice, and ethics into personal reflection.

The Fellowship is open to �鶹��Ƶ students at all levels of familiarity with Islam. Prior experience with Islamic studies of leadership in not required. Priority will be given to applicants able to commit to weekly participation. The fellowship seminar will meet for five weeks on Tuesday evenings from 5:30 to 7:00 pm in the Muslim Prayer Room located in Lower Herrick. The first session is Tuesday, March 17. Dinner will be provided for every session.

The Office for Religious and Spiritual Life can accept up to ten �鶹��Ƶ students for the fellowship. The selection committee will review all applications holistically based on the following criteria:

Thoughtfulness and sincerity of responses;
Willingness to engage in ethical reflection;
Openness to learning and dialogue; and,
Commitment to community participation.

Participants are expected to: engage respectfully with diverse perspectives; uphold a learning environment grounded in dignity and care; and actively participate in discussion and reflection. Applications are due by noon on Friday, March 13, 2026. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance by noon on Monday, March 16. The first session is Tuesday, March 17 from 5:30 to 7:00 pm in the Muslim Prayer Room located in Lower Herrick.

Please email your completed application to: spirituallife@oxy.edu

Application

Policy on Academic Accommodations for Reasons of Faith and Conscience

As �鶹��Ƶ strives to provide a gifted and diverse group of students with a total educational experience of the highest quality, we recognize that the student body includes adherents of many faiths and students who passionately believe their ideology. As our student body becomes more diverse, it is increasingly important that we, as an inclusive community, make academic accommodations for students from a variety of religious, spiritual and cultural backgrounds and personal convictions. View the full policy and the procedure for requesting accommodations for reasons of faith and conscience.

View a list of religious and spiritual holidays and days of conscience.

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