Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Intercultural Relations journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijintrel Why do christian churches, and not universities, facilitate intercultural engagement for Chinese international students? Yun Yu a, ⁎ , Marta Moskal b a Faculty of Education, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China b Durham University School of Education, Durham, DH1 1TA, UK ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Chinese international students UK Church participation Intercultural engagement Internationalisation ABSTRACT The paper offers new, significant insights into the Church engagement experiences of Chinese international students in the UK. Based on a mixed-method research and focusing on a group of international Chinese students participating in local Christian churches, it explores the motiva- tions (for), dynamics and types of connections students establish and maintain with the church communities, and the implications for stakeholders in facilitating intercultural engagement with the local community. The limited cross-cultural interactions alongside other structural and contextual factors often deprive meaningful engagement between international students and host nationals within the campus. According to the research participants, internationalised university is promising and promoting intercultural experiences but not delivering them. Chinese students of usually non-Christian background gravitate towards Christian churches as alternative places to gain desired intercultural experiences. The findings encourage universities to reflect on the quality of intercultural engagement for international students and draw from the reciprocal and respectful intercultural connections that some students discovered through engaging with Christian churches. Introduction The worldwide internationalisation of universities is reflected in the rate of increase in international student numbers. It is worthy of note that in the 12 years from 2000 to 2014 the number of international students more than doubled, with an average annual growth of around 7% (OECD, 2016). In terms of the most affected regions of the world, Europe’s institutions have the highest intake of international students (48%), followed by North America, and Oceania (OECD, 2015). Among these regions, the US and the UK account for a large portion of the global international student population, with 16% and 13% in 2014 respectively. Mixing inter- national students with host students potentially create a diverse study environment. The rising international mobility of both students and academics within higher education has generated growth in research and theories on inequalities related to international mobility and education (Bilecen & Van Mol, 2017; Marginson, 2012; Tannock, 2013), challenging contemporary debates that seek to present the internationalisation of higher education as a ‘neutral experience’ without taking into consideration historical, political, economic and cultural events and relations which influence the process (Madge, Raghuram, & Noxolo, 2009). University documents on internationalisation and student mobility are filled with contentions about intercultural learning, global outlook and understandings of ‘difference’ (Brooks & Waters, 2011). Differences in social lifestyle, culture, religious beliefs, language and sexuality across the student body are critical catalysts of many of the tensions that exist on https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2018.10.006 Received 19 January 2018; Received in revised form 19 October 2018; Accepted 21 October 2018 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: emmayuyun@163.com (Y. Yu). International Journal of Intercultural Relations 68 (2019) 1–12 0147-1767/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T