Everyone’s personal journey with faith is different and uniquely theirs. But what happens when your journey with God and spirituality becomes interrupted by essays or job applications?

This summer several students requested a group based on faith. For some of our students growing up, church was a weekly ritual that not only contributed to their relationship with faith but also was an outlet into the community. Church was deeply intertwined with family and personal growth while in high school. However, once moving to a new city and dealing with homework and sessions, religion was neglected. Other students requesting a faith group grew up without religion; as they started meeting new people from different backgrounds they became curious about diverse religions or wanted a starting point to become spiritual.

CLE Austin created a Spirituality Group to encourage this curiosity. The group worked to find commonality between differing beliefs, disproving stereotypes and enjoying in the celebrations of new religions. Because everyone in the group had a different religious background several group members were able to inform other students of their religion. This helped to recharge their own spirituality, becoming inspired to seek out new churches and bible studies in the Austin area.

While we learned about different religions, the students identified aspects that they hold important to their own faith. By looking beyond the scriptures, the students saw that at the core many differing religions provide the same benefits to the parishioners’ life. These positive outcomes from religion were the following: a dependable routine, sense of community, celebrations, and a time for self-reflection. The students agreed all these benefits were valuable to their overall wellness. Regardless of an individual’s spirituality, finding a routine, community, celebrations and self-reflection improves the complete well-being. They also agreed that these benefits could be replicated in their daily life.

Read the routine on the CLE site: experiencecle.com

About CLE
College Living Experience (CLE) is the industry’s leading provider of post-secondary supports for young adults with learning differences. Dedicated to providing the highest quality of services, we strive to propel young adults toward success as they journey through their transition to independence.