The Experience of a Religious Person at Hamilton College
Religion. The mention of it can bring a dinner to an awkward silence or inspire fiery quarrels that result in the participants flipping the table. Yet religion also inspires people to do good. It inspires sacrifice, charity, and art that awes the mind and enthralls the soul. Yet in this secular age, many people take it for granted. They ignore religion in all its forms, finding it backward, antiquated, uncomfortable, or some combination of these. Some even find religion downright evil. And these sentiments are heard frequently at Hamilton College.
Let me clarify a few things before discussing religion. First, writing for Enquiry does not make me racist, homophobic, Islamophobic, xenophobic, transphobic, and/or fascist. The toxicity of today’s political climate forces me to say this. And if you do take offense, or are uncomfortable with me writing for Enquiry, please feel free to chat with me, as I always encourage a good and productive conversation about politics. Second, this is a commentary on student life at Hamilton, not academic life. Third, my intention is not to be overbearing or moralistic. I try every day to be the best Christian I can be, but it is a struggle. I have my own vices and faults to deal with. I am a sinner. And I want you, the reader, to read this article knowing that.
I write as a Roman Catholic. However, I have friends who are non-Catholic Christians, and others who are Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist. I often engage in discussions with them to understand their religious views. All religions are beautiful, and I admire people of faith no matter what God or gods they worship and what practices they follow. Interfaith dialogue and unity thrive among religious students at Hamilton. Where the discussion becomes difficult is among non-religious students. I do not care if someone is an atheist, agnostic, deist, or non-religious in any other way. And many express themselves in a respectful manner. But a sizable number of non-religious students openly mock and despise religion, in cruel and jabbing ways.
I am not here to drag any reader into unnecessary drama. Nor is it my intent to denounce anyone as a bigot, even though there are students who seem to be. I have heard religion mocked on an almost daily basis. Students have mocked the Catholic Church in front of my face. They have assumed that Catholic students are repressive, bigoted, and have backward views on sexual intercourse and gender. I am often told this personally by students who in many cases are not aware that I am Catholic. The fact that these closed-minded students feel they can say such things to people whose religion they don’t even know about is wrong, cruel, and offensive. Other Christians on campus have reported similar experiences. And I do not know of a single Christian student, whether Catholic, Protestant, or Orthodox, who is backward and bigoted. None of us are closed-minded. We are accepting of everyone regardless of their identity and have no intention of forcing a life of celibacy on the world. Jewish and Muslim students, and students of other faiths, experience problems too. They tell me that people constantly question how “Jewish” or “Muslim” they are.
To be a religious student, no matter what your faith, is in my experience to be a subject of mockery and ridicule from many others. Again, I want to stress that this is not true of all non-religious students on campus. Some of my closest friends are loving and open-minded non-religious students who respect my faith and the faiths of others. But the problem of intolerance against religious students is pervasive at Hamilton, and something which nearly every religious student seems to have experienced firsthand. One might claim that I am exaggerating because I haven’t cited specific instances of intolerance, or because they haven’t heard this is an issue. I am not exaggerating. If I felt like this was a nothing-burger, I wouldn’t have written about it. I don’t get into specific stories, and didn’t interview people for this article, because I am simply describing a general climate on campus. If I had wanted to include personal experiences, I would have, and there would be so many that this article would be dozens of pages long. If you think this isn’t an issue, talk with a religious student about it. I believe that in your discussions with your religious friends and peers, they will tell you about times when they were treated with intolerance against religion or against their faiths.
I will continue to pray that such students see the error of their ways. And when one of them makes a disparaging comment against religion or religious students, call them out and correct them. But do it with gentleness and kindness. Religious students and those who oppose anti-religious hostility cannot change minds if we act with anger and arrogance. And while you call people out and correct them, know that like everyone, you are a sinner too, just as I myself have been guilty of messed-up actions. I hope that with the example set by religious students, students who voice hostility toward religion will embark on the path of love and tolerance.