Is serving in a soup kitchen located in a church considered a “prohibited activity”?
You should first consider the type of the activity, and secondly the location. If you are serving food in a soup kitchen that happens to be in a church, that activity in and of itself is absolutely appropriate. The Students in Service program encourages partnering with faith-based organizations. However, if you are also expected, as part of the soup kitchen experience, to discuss or promote the particular ideology or mission of the hosting religious organization, that would be an example of an unacceptable direct service activity since you would be engaging in religious instruction or proselytizing. This may be a helpful example in determining prohibited activities.
