"Some students are retreating to religious values," VUB Chancellor Jan Danckaert told De Morgen on Friday, expressing concern over what he sees as growing religious influence on campus.
As an example, the Chancellor cited the question of dedicated prayer rooms on campus. Every year, the VUB receives requests for them, and every year it invariably rejects them. As a result, students of various religions occupy rooms without permission to pray or meditate.
Danckaert, who became Chancellor in 2022 after a period as Vice-Chancellor, has noticed the religious influence more and more at the university in recent years.
The VUB has strict rules on diversity and inclusion. Students are free to express their faith, for instance, by wearing headscarves or other religious symbols. However, aligned with its freethinking humanist values, the university itself does not want to facilitate religious practices. "Our job is research and teaching," said Danckaert. "Religion is private."
Another example cited by the Chancellor is a recent debate held at the law faculty during which some students stated they could not subscribe to the principles of the democratic rule of law for religious reasons.
On the other hand, some female students in the healthcare courses refused to wear short-sleeved shirts, that are compulsory for maintaining hygiene in both university training and the profession.
"Under the pressure of group formation, some students retreat to religious values," added Danckaert . "In such cases, we have to be strict." The VUB initiated dialogues with the students involved.
As a Brussels-based university, the VUB has always attracted a more diverse population than other institutions. "We are proud of this," said the rector. "However, society is becoming increasingly polarised, and this inevitably reflects on us. We must ensure that our campus remains an open space for interactions between communities."
Interim president of VUB's student council Wout Vanhelden also told De Morgen that he noticed a gap between individuals with differing religious or ideological beliefs on campus. "Some of them would also want the university to facilitate religion more. As a student council, we try to look for a middle ground." The council is looking into it the possibility of providing prayer rooms near campus with help from the city and the university.
