Pursuing Faith at a `Godless' School

Religion and Harvard have never had a simple relationship.

The University was founded as a divinity school to train Puritan ministers. For years, Harvard's presidents were themselves ministers. Even today, the song "10,000 Men of Harvard" sings the praises of Puritan ideals.

However, according to The Harvard Century, by Richard Norton Smith, "Seventeenth century Harvard opened its doors to Copernican theory, in clear contradiction to Scripture and more than a hundred years in advance of European universities."

Harvard's "heresy" so repelled then-President Increase Mather that he left in 1701 to found a "new, more pious academy" in New Haven. And today, one of the most common adjectives tacked in front of "Harvard" when speaking of religion is "godless."

Clearly, Harvard is no longer the Christian fortress of the past. But neither is it the bastion of atheism that some claim it to be. More than 350 years after the founding of the school, the tension between its sacred and secular sides has yet to be resolved.

University Marshal Richard M. Hunt, who chairs a faculty committee on religion says that currently religion at Harvard is "a mixed picture of lights and shades."

"There is questioning and serious interest in various religious phenomena that was not there before," he says, referring to increased attendance of religious services. "[But] some of the interest may be superficial."

As chair of the religion faculty, Hunt advises President Neil L. Rudenstine on religious issues.

He also endorses appointments to the United Ministry of Harvard, which, according to the Handbook for Students, is "an association of denominational chaplains who are united in an interfaith ministry to the University."

Founded in the late 1970s, the Ministry is intended to mediate between religions groups on any misunderstanding or cooperative effort.

Needless to say, the sort of pluralism represented by the Ministry--where all religions are treated equally--is a far cry from the days of Puritan monotheism.

"This is a multi-cultural environment--some of the tension comes out and into play," Hunt says.

But Hunt believes that the attitude towards religion at Harvard is characterized by neglect rather than opposition or discouragement.

"The University is a secular community. Religion takes place within it, but not especially supported by it," he says.

Father Richard J. Malone, co-chaplain of the Harvard-Radcliffe Catholic Students Center, agrees that religion is not particularly encouraged at Harvard.

"This can be a tough place for believers because of the secular mood," he says.

But Malone says he thinks that Harvard's atmosphere forces students who wish to be religious to be active and deliberate, rather than passively following a faith.

"In college years, students have to move from what we call inherited faith--the faith of their parents--to owned faith," he says. "When people do it that way, they come out very strong on the other side. Sometimes it means navigating through doubt, but that's why we're here."

As late as the early 20th century, religion was a determining factor in Harvard admissions, to the extent that quotas were placed on members of certain religious groups--notably Catholics and Jews.

Today, however, the administration no longer keeps tabs on the religions orientation of the student body. Neither the registrar's office nor the admissions office compiles such statistics.

Although the United Ministry provides religious information cards for each first-year student to fill out during registration, the results of this yearly survey are kept confidential by the Ministry.

According to Malone, Catholics make up approximately 25 percent of the undergraduate population and 20 percent of the graduate population, but no exact figures are available.

And Harvard's Jewish community, comprised of Reform, Orthodox and three different Conservative branches, today accounts for another 25 percent of undergraduates, according to Hillel acting Director Rabbi Sally R. Finestone.

"We have the second-largest Hillel in the country in terms of the level of activity and of size," she says. "It's okay to be actively Jewish and be part of Harvard."

The Rev. Peter J. Gomes, who is Plummer professor of Christian morals and minister of Memorial Church, says he sees an upswing in religious activity in general at Harvard.

"One of the great ironies is that this place is called `godless Harvard.' There are few colleges where there are more lively varieties of religious expression than here," he says.

Gomes says that this was less true when he first came to Harvard more than two decades ago.

"Twenty years ago, the Moral Reasoning [Core course] requirement would have been unthought of," Gomes says. "This is a much more hospitable and engaging place [for religion] than it has been for a long time."

Yet, as Gomes can well attest, with the rise of religion has come the development of a small but outspoken conservative element at Harvard, represented by such organizations as the Association Against Learning in the Absence of Religion and Morality (AALARM) and the conservative publication Peninsula.

Another such group, Concerned Christians at Harvard, came to the forefront this year, calling for Gomes resignation after he revealed this fall that he is gay.

Episcopal Chaplain G. Stewart Barnes attributes this new conservatism to insecurity.

"We live in a period of history where every group is expecting sensitivity and recognition," he says.

"I support that. But that also means that when individuals feel that someone else is getting more recognition and acceptance, they are going to be much more vocal about their place in the community."

Barnes, Gomes and Finestone agree that campus shifts such as that towards Christian fundamentalism reflect larger trends in society as a whole.

"This is certainly a presence that did not exist here in the past," says Finestone. "There has been [in society] a return to fundamentalism in many political and cultural lives."

Cyrus R. Mehta, an adjunct associate professor of biostatistics who is the United Ministry representative for the Hindu and Zoroastrian religions, agrees that religious interest at Harvard seems healthy.

"There seems to be a surprising amount of interest in religious matters," he says.

Mehta estimates the size of the undergraduate Hindu community to be around 100, but says that many do not attend weekly prayer sessions for area students hosted by the Swami Sarvagatananda at MIT.

The Study of Religion

In his 1936 history of Harvard, Samuel Eliot Morison said that Harvard had originally been founded "to advance Learning and perpetuate it to Posterity; dreading to leave an illiterate Ministry to the Churches."

However, John E. Cort, head tutor for the Committee on the Study of Religion, says that absolute morality is "irrelevant" in religion studies today.

"The study of religion allows people to ask the big questions in an academic and intellectually respectable way... rather than [being] simply pragmatic or career-oriented," says Cort.

He says that one of the strengths of the small, honors-only concentration is that it draws a wide variety of people.

However, unlike most other major universities, Harvard does not have a department of religion. The concentration shares all of its professors with other fields. Dr. Herbert F. Vettar, chaplain at the Unitarian Universalist church for the past 25 years, calls this a serious lack.

"To me, it is disturbing that there isn't a department of religion," he says. "There is finally the possibility of undergraduate participation in religion, but there is not budget."

However, others point out that to study religion fully, a student must take into account such other areas as history, society and government that have both influenced and been influenced by religion. Having faculty proficient in other related fields, some feel, actually gives the concentration a needed breadth.

"Religion can't be isolated from the rest of the culture," says Diana L. Eck, professor of comparative religion and Indian studies and chair of the Committee. "People who put together a major in religion will have to study a wide range of intellectual fields."

"The Commitee on the Study of Religion, while not a department, functions in every way as an interdisciplinary department, with both an undergraduate concentration and a doctoral program of 140 doctoral students," Eck adds.

Religion concentrator Rachel L. Burger '92, like many students in the field, has a dual concentration--in her case, religion and women's studies, a combination that would probably astonish Harvard's Puritan founders.

My attempts to write papers about monasticism have been very encouraging--maybe because no one writes about nuns," says Burger, who spent a semester last year living in a Benedictine convent in France.

Once, Harvard was dedicated to producing learned Protestant ministers. However, today Buffey Professor of Historical Theology Margaret R. Miles says that even at the Divinity School, the study of religion is as much about values and issues as it is about rules and creeds.

"I think people here learn to respect religion because they're around people of so many different religions," she says. "Some become more religious but also in a more sophisticated and examined way."

Religion and Real Life

However, these relatively new freedoms in religion at Harvard have not come without price. Spirituality here is sometimes attacked, according to some students.

"People tend to be real scoffing and cynical about the idea of spirituality here," says Mary T. Teichert '93, president of the Catholic Students Association. "They tend to dismiss spirituality as being a substitute for real thinking."

She says that she has sometimes been treated in a patronizing manner because of her religion. "People tend to think that because I am Catholic I buy hook, line and sinker everything the Pope ever said," says Teichert.

Karl E. Wirth '93, a member of Harvard-Radcliffe Christian Fellowship, says that God is often ignored in the classroom. "A lot of the time in classes it seems as though God is outdated. In reality a lot of people are thinking about and struggling with [faith]," he says.

Both students say that they look for supportfrom their religious communities. "A vital aspectof being Christian is being with otherpeople--reading the Bible, praying with otherpeople," says Wirth. "I've definitely learned alot and become closer to God since I got here."

Despite the University's official religiousneutrality, it has made a number of attempts inrecent years to recognize the role that religionplays in the lives of some students. For example,chaplains are now an official part of the "crisisreference network" that the University makes useof.

Such interdenominational organizations as theUnited Ministry attempt to treat various religionswith sensitivity and to better relations betweenthe different faiths.

However, Barnes points out that the growingnotice of religion at Harvard is not without itsdifficulties. "A long-range issue must be somehowresolved--the issue of the Christian founding ofthe University and the rapidly increasingdiversity of religious expression," he says.

Daniel J. Libenson '92, a former chair ofHillel, also mentions the problems that Harvard'sProtestant roots can cause. He complains ofconflicts between scheduled events and variousJewish holidays.

"Once it's pointed out, they're usually verygood about it, but they don't really think muchabout it in advance," he says. "It sort of givesone the feeling of not being a part of Harvard."

Libenson believes that Harvard needs to focuson including all religions, rather than trying tobe wholly secular while maintaining suchinstitutions as Memorial Church. "[It's bad] ifHarvard institutionalizes one religion or religionin general," he says.

Officially, Memorial Church isnondenominational--nondenominationally Christian,that is. Although it is open to ceremonies of allreligious faiths, it is nonetheless a church withChristian symbols and objects.

Some view this merely as a formal tie toHarvard's past, while others, such as Libenson,regard such symbolism as dangerous.

Religious Multiculturalism

However, some students are not particularlyconcerned by the question. Samah Jafari '93, whoheads the Islamic Student Society, says of hercommunity, "At this point, we see ourselves asMuslims in a Christian community."

She estimates that about 100 Muslims areenrolled in Harvard's graduate and under-graduateprograms. "Christians here have been around longerand there are more of them. [The administration]has actually been quite helpful as far as holidaysper se," she says.

Still, Jafari says she enjoys being a Muslim atHarvard. "Everyone's just curious about it in afriendly way. Also, because I practice with acommunity, I feel a certain deep closeness tothem," she says.

Like Jafari, Monica Manandhar '94 is notparticularly worried about the influence, or lackthereof, of Christianity at Harvard. However, heropinions spring more from relative religiousindifference. Raised as a Buddhist in Nepal,Manandhar says that her participation in herreligion has lessened greatly since coming toHarvard.

"At home, we had ceremonies and festivals," shesays. "It was always around me...but here I'm notdoing much. I do believe in God, but I haven'tfound the need to find a temple to go to everyweek."

Some students take advantage of the multiplereligions at Harvard to explore faith more freelyon their own. Although Harvard is not seen as areligious campus, the tolerance and adaptationthat a multicultural environment fosters canprovide students with new religious opportunities.

Badsah Mukhopadhyay '94 is one of these. Raisedin the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, he nowconsiders himself non-denominational. However, hehas tried to gain more understanding of variousreligions by studying and attending services.

"I went through a phase where I was away fromreligion, and returned in a different way," hesays. "I pray and meditate when I want peace ofmind. I have no qualms about praying to any God,and deity--I'm not rigid about it," he says.

Thomas H. Hughes '92, a Mormon, also says thatHarvard has provided him with new experiences inrelation to religion. "Like most other orthodoxreligions, Mormonism has a general stance againsthomosexuality," he says.

"I had never had gay friends before. I've hadnothing but good experiences with the gay peopleI've come in contact with," he says.

Hughes believes that Harvard offers many suchchallenges to one's religious beliefs and that byno means do these ultimately have to hurt one'sfaith.

He says that he has never been pressured tojustify his religions' position on alcohol, amongother things.

"It seems to me that there are more people atHarvard than I might guess who consider themselvesstrongly religious," says Hughes. "If you comehere a believer, there's no reason to think youhave to leave here a non-believer.

Both students say that they look for supportfrom their religious communities. "A vital aspectof being Christian is being with otherpeople--reading the Bible, praying with otherpeople," says Wirth. "I've definitely learned alot and become closer to God since I got here."

Despite the University's official religiousneutrality, it has made a number of attempts inrecent years to recognize the role that religionplays in the lives of some students. For example,chaplains are now an official part of the "crisisreference network" that the University makes useof.

Such interdenominational organizations as theUnited Ministry attempt to treat various religionswith sensitivity and to better relations betweenthe different faiths.

However, Barnes points out that the growingnotice of religion at Harvard is not without itsdifficulties. "A long-range issue must be somehowresolved--the issue of the Christian founding ofthe University and the rapidly increasingdiversity of religious expression," he says.

Daniel J. Libenson '92, a former chair ofHillel, also mentions the problems that Harvard'sProtestant roots can cause. He complains ofconflicts between scheduled events and variousJewish holidays.

"Once it's pointed out, they're usually verygood about it, but they don't really think muchabout it in advance," he says. "It sort of givesone the feeling of not being a part of Harvard."

Libenson believes that Harvard needs to focuson including all religions, rather than trying tobe wholly secular while maintaining suchinstitutions as Memorial Church. "[It's bad] ifHarvard institutionalizes one religion or religionin general," he says.

Officially, Memorial Church isnondenominational--nondenominationally Christian,that is. Although it is open to ceremonies of allreligious faiths, it is nonetheless a church withChristian symbols and objects.

Some view this merely as a formal tie toHarvard's past, while others, such as Libenson,regard such symbolism as dangerous.

Religious Multiculturalism

However, some students are not particularlyconcerned by the question. Samah Jafari '93, whoheads the Islamic Student Society, says of hercommunity, "At this point, we see ourselves asMuslims in a Christian community."

She estimates that about 100 Muslims areenrolled in Harvard's graduate and under-graduateprograms. "Christians here have been around longerand there are more of them. [The administration]has actually been quite helpful as far as holidaysper se," she says.

Still, Jafari says she enjoys being a Muslim atHarvard. "Everyone's just curious about it in afriendly way. Also, because I practice with acommunity, I feel a certain deep closeness tothem," she says.

Like Jafari, Monica Manandhar '94 is notparticularly worried about the influence, or lackthereof, of Christianity at Harvard. However, heropinions spring more from relative religiousindifference. Raised as a Buddhist in Nepal,Manandhar says that her participation in herreligion has lessened greatly since coming toHarvard.

"At home, we had ceremonies and festivals," shesays. "It was always around me...but here I'm notdoing much. I do believe in God, but I haven'tfound the need to find a temple to go to everyweek."

Some students take advantage of the multiplereligions at Harvard to explore faith more freelyon their own. Although Harvard is not seen as areligious campus, the tolerance and adaptationthat a multicultural environment fosters canprovide students with new religious opportunities.

Badsah Mukhopadhyay '94 is one of these. Raisedin the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, he nowconsiders himself non-denominational. However, hehas tried to gain more understanding of variousreligions by studying and attending services.

"I went through a phase where I was away fromreligion, and returned in a different way," hesays. "I pray and meditate when I want peace ofmind. I have no qualms about praying to any God,and deity--I'm not rigid about it," he says.

Thomas H. Hughes '92, a Mormon, also says thatHarvard has provided him with new experiences inrelation to religion. "Like most other orthodoxreligions, Mormonism has a general stance againsthomosexuality," he says.

"I had never had gay friends before. I've hadnothing but good experiences with the gay peopleI've come in contact with," he says.

Hughes believes that Harvard offers many suchchallenges to one's religious beliefs and that byno means do these ultimately have to hurt one'sfaith.

He says that he has never been pressured tojustify his religions' position on alcohol, amongother things.

"It seems to me that there are more people atHarvard than I might guess who consider themselvesstrongly religious," says Hughes. "If you comehere a believer, there's no reason to think youhave to leave here a non-believer.