Niagara University has received an $8,000 grant from Interfaith America to launch “Beyond Belief,” an initiative intended to prepare student leaders who can successfully facilitate collaboration across faith, belief, and identity lines.
Through structured workshops, interfaith student-led panels, and community-based service projects, participants will develop a deep understanding of diverse spiritual and secular worldviews. The program will equip students to foster respectful dialogue and emphatic collaboration, and to address local needs through the lens of interfaith cooperation. The culminating project, a campus fair called “A Culture of Encounter,” will expand efforts beyond the student body to the entire university community through activities that will create a campus environment of acceptance and support.
The work aligns with Niagara’s Catholic and Vincentian mission to respect the God-given dignity of every person and builds upon current initiatives to provide space for diverse faith traditions on campus and connect with local faith leaders.
“The Beyond Belief initiative deeply resonates with Niagara’s Catholic values of solidarity and hospitality, inviting students to encounter, understand, and respectfully engage with others’ beliefs while nurturing compassionate leadership and service, and reaffirming our mission to form ethically grounded, civically engaged individuals,” said Christopher Sheffield, vice president for student affairs.
The nine-month program, which will launch in the spring 2026 semester, will be housed in the university’s Intercultural Engagement Center. The student leaders trained in the inaugural year will become institutional stewards to create a sustainable model for future leaders to follow.
Interfaith America works across educational, civic, and professional spaces to advance pluralism and equip leaders to create institutional cultures where people respect, relate, and cooperate across religious diversity.
