Does Columbia Foster Spirituality?

The Chronicle, the student newspaper at Duke University, recently printed a column by Rebecca Sun, who wrote: "I believe in God and the fact that ... every encounter is an opportunity to learn more about myself and my relationship with Him."

Although some Columbia students may hold opinions similar to Sun's, some on campus say that a column like hers would never be submitted for publication. These students doubt that Columbia would attract students like Sun, who would write about their spiritual opinions and submit them to the critical eye of the student body.

But others feel at home in Columbia's spiritual environment, noting the numerous religious groups and fellowship opportunities. And some students--of a variety of faiths--believe that the presence of sacred texts in the Core Curriculum facilitates meaningful religious discourse.

Within the Core, art, music, philosophy, and literature are vehicles through which students are encouraged to share their spirituality--or lack thereof.

"There are a lot of classes at Columbia that have the reputation of being anti-religious," said Benjamin Harbuck, SEAS '06.

Chanani Gillers, CC '06, was offended by the disrespectful tone that pervaded a discussion in his Logic and Rhetoric class about the presence of religious texts in the Core. He said that students commented that studying religion is "passé" or "old-school."

Harbuck, who will leave Columbia to devote two years to his Mormon mission starting next term, would be the last to agree with the idea that religion is a thing of the past, or the idea that the University doesn't provide religious students with enough resources to practice their faith. In fact, Columbia will grant him religious leave for the two years that he will be traveling.

"The University does support religious groups, and it does a lot for them," he said.

Moreover, many students have had very positive experiences with religious discussions in their Core classes.

Marisa Marconi, CC '05, believes that the religious views expressed by students in her Contemporary Civilization section are beneficial to the class's conversation as a whole.

"When we talk about religious issues, discussion gets livelier," she said. "A lot of people bring their religious ideas into the discussion, and that adds a lot to the class."

Literature Humanities classes, which include a focus on Biblical texts as well as the religious writings of Saint Augustine, have also received good reviews from some students.

"I was very positively surprised. My teacher kept all of the discussions on a very respectful and even-handed level. She made it clear that we were to discuss the texts as works of literature and works of literature only," Gillers said.

But some students feel that the Bible is approached too literally in their Core classes. They argue that the discussion of it in solely a literal sense ignores the faithful foundations of the work.

"Classes like CC and Lit Hum ... are never taught giving a fair voice to the religious side, never showing that it can have rational validity, often belittling the ideas of belief and faith as if they can have little basis in comparison to the newly-appreciated secular approach," Jonathan Goldfinger, CC '05, said.

On the other hand, many students criticize the Core in a different sense: they say that the classes focus only on the accomplishments of the Western--a sentiment that can lead to an especially harsh view of Christianity, according to some Christian students.

"Students at Columbia aren't likely to express complimentary opinions about Western religions in general," Lynn Copes, CC '05, said. "It's not quite politically correct to be a Christian."

Joe Ward, CC '05 and the spiritual coach of Columbia Catholic Athletes, agrees, and argues that, while criticism of other religions is in all cases unacceptable, students and teachers tend to brush off ill-speech of Catholicism as if current controversy within the Church warrants taunting. "Anti-Catholicism is the most widely accepted form of prejudice left in the world," he said.

Because of what many describe as anti-religious sentiment on campus or animosity toward Christianity encountered through the Core, many Christian students have a difficult time adjusting to life at Columbia.

"I have no community here," Copes said. "It's so hard to find people who are like me."

Some say that although the Christian community is certainly present on campus, it is hard for religious students to speak their minds about what is important to them, for fear of what might be an overwhelming anti-Christian response.

"There are very devoted, pious Christians on campus. But I also think that there are a lot of people on campus who are cynical of faith in general. There is a lot of opposition to religion, which makes it hard for the faithful to speak up," Katherine Dugan, BC '05, said.
On the other hand, some students flock to Columbia precisely because of the religious community present on campus. Columbia offers Orthodox Jews a place to practice their faith within a large community of believers; similarly, there are several Christian groups on campus with hundreds of members.

The Orthodox Jewish community is noticeable on campus because it is so closely-knit. Some dorm floors are specifically reserved for members of the group, and most keep within the community for religious as well as social activities, Gillers said.

Most Orthodox Jews at Columbia know one another because many traveled to Israel after high school or went to summer camps together. In that sense, Orthodox Jews are distinct from other religious communities at Columbia because they have those experiences as a common ground, and a sense of community is immediately fostered on campus as a result.

In the same vein, some students come to Columbia because the atmosphere is challenging to their faith. Many students are glad to have the opportunity to stand up for what they believe in.

"I'm constantly challenged to think about why I believe what I believe, and why I live the way that I live. Even though I sometimes feel very alone, that can be a good thing in the end because [students at Columbia] are coming to a better understanding of each other," Rebecca Andersen, BC '05, said.