New Ohio University students have numerous opportunities to practice their religion or discover new religious organizations on campus.
There are 13 different religious organizations that have representatives who are a part of the University Interfaith Association, a group providing counsel to the Dean of Students on religious activity on campus. The association includes Athens First United Methodist, Athens First Presbyterian Church, Athens Friends Meeting and others.
Places of worship around campus include 24 Christian churches, two Jewish Centers, one Islamic Center and one Buddhist group.
Julia Krauth, 2025 OU graduate, majored in Lead Industrial Systems Engineering and was the president of the student organization, OU Catholics.
“I showed up to the first event right before school started my freshman year,” she said. “I honestly don't know if I was expecting to stick around or not, but ever since that event, I've been an active member of the community for my four years at school.”
There’s no charge for students to join OU Catholics and they can find information about any of their events @oucatholics.
At Christ the King, there are five different Catholic Masses Monday through Friday, all at 12:15 p.m. On the weekends, Saturday Mass is at 5 p.m. and Sunday Masses are at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Krauth said the organization’s biggest event of the week is Sunday dinner which is after Mass in Christ the King’s community center.
The OU Catholic organization hosts weekly Bible study groups as well.
“There’s a variety of Bible studies people can choose from,” Krauth said.
Throughout the semester, OU Catholics host various events, including soccer games, movies and game nights.
“They can come as frequently or as infrequently as they want,” Krauth said.
Some members of OU Catholics write for De Sales Magazine, the only other Catholic organization on campus besides OU Catholics.
“I think it’s really important to have a community like that, who has the same faith as you, and to give you people to go to Mass with, or people to pray with, or to talk about your spiritual life with,” Krauth said.
Another place of worship students can explore is Chabad, a Jewish student organization, headquartered at 33 N. Court St.
Rabbi Levi Raichik, advisor of Chabad, said interested students can text “Join” to 740-306-6668 to join Chabad’s mailing list. He also said the organization is free to join and a majority of Jewish students at OU are members of Chabad.
“We offer events, programs, classes, trips, internships and holiday programming, anything that a Jewish student could need at a University,” Raichik said.
Chabad has Shabbat, a four-course dinner, every Friday at 7 p.m.
“When they (students) come to college, they explore the Jewish religion which they have not done at home in a deeper way,” Raichik said, emphasizing how Jewish students can use Chabad to learn about their religion. “It's also part of growing up in college,
learning everything in a deeper way and opening yourself up to new experiences.”
The Islamic Center of Athens is located at 13 Stewart St. and home to the Muslim Student Association. New students can find information about events @msa_ohiou.
Athens KTC practices the Karma Kagyu tradition of Buddhism. They meet every Sunday at Serenity Roots Yoga and Wellness Center, in the yoga studio building at 8950 Lavelle Road.
New students can explore OU’s religious services here or use Bobcat connect.
