Reviewed by Zikang Hou, Department of Sociology
In an era where "diversity" buzzwords appear on every college brochure--even as the concept becomes increasingly contested across the United States--why do marginalized students still report profound feelings of exclusion? In The Limits of Diversity, sociologist Esther Chan tackles this paradox through a fascinating comparison of two very different institutions: a large public university and a small evangelical college. By contrasting these seemingly opposite sites, Chan disrupts the traditional binary between secular and religious institutions, revealing that both share underlying mechanisms of exclusion. Her findings are counterintuitive: despite their ideological differences, both schools reproduce inequality by clinging to "abstract equality"--the idea that treating everyone the same is fair, even when historical power dynamics suggest otherwise.
Chan illustrates how secular schools often prioritize an absolutist view of "free speech" over student safety, while religious colleges may use theological concepts like "universal sin" to flatten specific racial injustices. Both approaches fail to account for the unique realities of marginalized groups.
As Chan emphasized when she joined us during the Reading Religion Salon, her goal is to push readers to distinguish between equality (sameness) and equity (justice). She challenges people of faith, in particular, to reflect on whether their systems of belief support the status quo or actively work toward rectifying historical wrongs. She poignantly noted that this work is not merely for the current moment, but for "generations of students to come," framing diversity as a long-term ethical obligation rather than a box to check.
A critique might be that the solution the book prescribes--transforming universities from "inequality regimes" into "equity regimes"--is daunting. Some administrators may find the scale of required structural change overwhelming or difficult to translate into immediate, incremental policy steps.
Nevertheless, this book is essential reading for university administrators, chaplains, DEI officers, and student leaders. It challenges university administrators at both public and denominational universities to look beyond superficial metrics such as enrollment numbers and to critically examine how abstract ideologies and theology shape students lived experiences. Ultimately, Chan offers a necessary roadmap for moving beyond superficial inclusion toward substantive justice and equity.
Esther Chan. The Limits of Diversity: How Secular and Evangelical Campuses Reproduce Inequality. New York: New York University Press, 2025.