Liberal arts education should include exploration of all religious faiths

The R-word — religion — can be a very dirty word on our nation's college campuses. The end of any kind of religious schooling for many, the absence of parents and a seemingly consequence-free environment can lead many students who were brought up with any sort of religious background to cast it off. Upon entering the University, many students tend to take their religious observance/schooling/identity and put it in their under-the-bed storage box along with winter clothes and towels.

This is, however, Princeton, and some students have found college to be an opportunity to actually expand and deepen their faith. While many of my atheist friends have remained atheist, and many of my religious friends have remained religious and still others have traded church services for T.I. late night, many have found outlets to learn more about their faith or even pick a new one.

The reason some students choose to explore their faith now is that college asks more questions than it answers. While at home, our parents, siblings and even our neighborhood act as constants in our life. Once we get to college, we are faced with the task of building a new community. And religion — it doesn't matter which one — offers a ready-made community of friends and a slew of social, cultural and educational activities. For others, religion fills the spiritual void that two nights at the 'Street' seem to create. While many find spirituality in a walk in the woods, lighting up a joint or by having an intense conversation with a close friend, others find solace in a community of friends singing in prayer.

With that observation and given my experiences over the past few years here at Princeton, it amazes me that at such a small University there are a plethora of religious organizations and people involved in religious activities. This represents a great opportunity for all of us. I am not telling people to be more religious or more observant — that's your decision and the importance of religion is an issue an individual must face by himself. What I am saying, however, is that each person on campus should broaden his horizons and learn exactly what the precepts and rituals of other religions are.

This is a really dangerous thing to say — I am not going to tell you my religion (although you Bible scholars can probably guess by my first name), but the one thing I will note is that its representation on the earth's surface is less than one-half of a 10th of a percent. So by encouraging others to go to various religious services, I believe there is a chance of someone finding a better answer somewhere else. But that's a risk I am going to take.

In any event, I think that going to other people's worship services and asking questions is an important out-of-class academic and knowledge-building exercise. Go to a Mass if you've never been. What is Ramadan? What is a Jewish worship service like? What do Hindus believe? What's the difference between all the Christian denominations? What's the difference between all the Jewish denominations? What's the difference between all the Muslim denominations? Who are Ba'hais and why do they put a daily meditation in the 'Prince' everyday?

While many people may answer these questions for papers or essays, others are completely clueless. And I think that there is so much diversity on this campus that whether or not you are religious, you should be able to answer these types of questions, especially if you don't have the opportunity to take a class on them. Ask a Jewish friend to take you to the Center for Jewish Life to see what a service is like. Ask a Muslim about his religion. If you're not Christian go to a church service or one of the myriad activities that the various Christian organizations have.

By the time you're out of here, you should come out not only with a solid liberal arts education, but also with an idea about how various religions attempt to find spirituality and community as well as a working knowledge of the world's religious landscape. Seth Wikas is a Near Eastern Studies major from Beachwood, Ohio. He can be reached at sawikas@princeton.edu.