Social, cultural, and religious divisions have impacted the counseling profession in various ways in the recent past. Notably, in 2017 the American Counseling Association (ACA) moved their national conference from Tennessee in response to that state's legislature passing laws which reflect this divide, in allowing for professional counselors to decline to serve individuals based on counselors' personal objections to their lifestyles. Moreover, recent exchanges in the Journal of Counseling and Development drew attention to possible tensions that exist between the ACA's Code of Ethics and the codes of faith and conduct espoused by many faith-based institutions housing counselor education programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP). In an effort to understand the experiences of students placed at the nexus of these professional and cultural fault lines, a qualitative, phenomenological study was employed to explore the lived experience of counseling students studying at counselor education programs accredited by CACREP which are housed at faith-based institutions accredited by the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). Results suggest that students at these programs experience their programs as open and accepting environments where peers and faculty encourage productive discussions about cultural and social issues. Moreover, participants reported a perceived, enhanced competence to engage with clients' religious and spiritual concerns. Findings lead to suggestions for future research and insight into the role of Christian-aligned counselor education programs in preparing counselors in training to engage with clients who hold spiritual and religious view which are important to them. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]