Unaffiliated Religious Organizations

Unrecognized religious organizations are those that (a) have not been formally recognized by the Chaplaincy as a Campus Ministry, or (b) were previously recognized by University of Richmond and lost that recognition as a result of a University and/or national organization conduct process.

The Chaplaincy invites students to explore the diversity of religious and spiritual opportunities on campus and throughout Richmond. However, the Chaplaincy and the University of Richmond do not sanction the activities of unrecognized religious organizations. Students are strongly advised to use caution when joining an unrecognized organization.

Unrecognized groups are not monitored for compliance with important University policies, such as those related to non-discrimination, harassment, and hazing, and their staff do not complete the mandatory training required of other staff, faculty, and Campus Ministry volunteers. Additionally, students should be advised that scholarships made available through unrecognized off-campus organizations must be reported to the Office of Financial Aid and may impact their support package.

Unrecognized religious organization are prohibited from utilizing campus resources (including facilities, funding, and communication platforms like spiderbytes and dflyers) and participating in Student Organization programs like SpiderFest. They may not carry necessary levels of liability insurance and are not supervised by or affiliated with any Chaplaincy organization. Students participating in these unrecognized organizations will not be entitled to any of the benefits offered to students and alumni of recognized organizations.