Lindsey Harrison, Reporter
The Berry College community, while founded on Christian principles, has begun to embrace more religious diversity in recent years. Data from the Registrar’s Office and Institutional Research shows that out of the 1,847 incoming students for the fall 2014 semester who reported their religious affiliation, 89.4 percent identified as some form of Christian while nearly 10 percent do not identify with Christianity. While the majority of the population is still largely Christian, diversity is making a presence.
According to Dr. Jeffrey Lidke, though there is a clear Christian majority at Berry, there have been growing efforts in recent years to increase discussion and understanding between people of various faiths and religions on campus. A religion and philosophy professor, Lidke has been enormously involved in these efforts. According to him, in 2003, the Interfaith Council was set up at the request of the president of the college at the time in response to the reactions surrounding an interfaith service that took place in the Berry College Chapel following the events of 9/11. The purpose of the Interfaith Council is to foster interfaith dialogue between all faiths that make up Berry’s campus.
“In the twelve years that the Interfaith Council has been present on campus, I’ve really noticed a shift generally in the culture of the campus towards one that is really, truly welcoming of a diversity of religious faiths,” Lidke said.
Lidke said he became involved because he believed in the need for student interest and engagement in interfaith dialogue and because he had students who were interested in promoting the same. The Interfaith Council led to the formation of more diverse, student driven religious life groups.
In 2006, the Student Association for Interreligious Community (SAIC, later renamed Religion in Student Experience or RISE) was formed in response to a growing need to support students who identified with a minority religion on campus.
Other student groups soon followed. The Unitarian Universalists were introduced in 2011, and then the Buddhist and Muslim study groups entered the scene in 2012. Now RISE, the Buddhist Studies Group, the Muslim Studies Group, the Jewish Studies Group, and the Unitarian Universalists all work together, along with the Interfaith Council, to sponsor and host events such as the “Muslims and Christians: Enemies, Brothers, or Friends?” lecture last Thursday, and the World Music Festival coming up April 11 to encourage and raise awareness for interfaith dialogue.
“There is still work to do,” Lidke said. “But the foundation is laid for rich exchange regarding the world’s faiths.“ He is optimistic that in the last twelve years Berry has seen a dramatic improvement in its openness and hospitality toward other religions.
Megan Petrovich, a sophomore German major and the president of RISE, would like to see even greater progress. In her opinion, there should be more opportunities for students who do not identify with Christianity.
“I think that there should be more options for people who don’t necessarily identify with Christianity because everyone has something to say,” she said.
Chaplain Jonathan Huggins and Director of Student Ministries Erin Moniz agree that improvements can still be made.
“I think Berry students are busier than the average college student because of our fantastic work program,” Huggins said. “This is a good thing, but it also causes extracurricular activities, including religious life, to take a hit.”
“Martha Berry believed that real education was academic, work-based, and spiritual. That’s your head, heart, hands all alongside each other,” Moniz said.
Lidke also emphasized the importance of cultivating one’s own personal spiritual growth.
“There’s a real benefit to understanding your own faith tradition in relationship to other faiths’ traditions,” Lidke said.
Raising awareness about on-campus opportunities available for students to explore and grow in their religious beliefs is a goal shared by Lidke, Huggins, Moniz, and student groups like RISE.
“There are lots of opportunities,” Moniz said. “But students don’t always know what those are.“
Lidke also pointed out that this movement toward more integration of different religious groups on campus is not a challenge to Berry’s Christian heritage.
“Christian in spirit, welcoming of others,” Lidke said, referring to Berry’s mission in relation to religion. “We still have a majority identity, but one that is respectful of a plurality of perspectives that make up our campus identity.”