I have always had a unique relationship with institutions of faith and organized religion. My mother is Muslim, my father is Hindu, and when I was growing up in New York, I was sent to Catholic school. Neither of my parents pressured me into any religion, although my mother would take me to church on Christmas. I rarely saw either parent formally practice religion; we almost never attended religious ceremonies, but often attended religious ceremonies involving milestone experiences of our extended family members and friends. The first Friday of every month in my elementary school was a mandatory mass for all students. Those who had been baptized were eligible to take communion, but since I had not completed that sacrament, I was one of the few that had to refrain from that ritual. Not adhering to a particular faith structure has both benefitted and hindered me in life. The most significant benefit has been an ability to understand and accept others without having to filter relationships through the filter of religion. The major downside has been that others have developed perceptions about me, usually negative, based on my lack of a faith system. This orientation to religion has led to tension in some of my personal relationships, including the loss of some people in my life. Although I don’t identify as atheistic, per se, I think that my relationship with religion and institutions of workshop might be similar to the experiences of some students who do identify as atheistic, potentially enhancing my ability to try and see the world from their point of view.
Overall, I’m pretty excited to be studying atheistic students. Of course, one of the hazards of examining this sect of the college student population is painting them with wide brushstrokes. I think one important thing to keep in mind is that there may be more heterogeneity within the community of atheistic students than there is between atheistic students and students with religious affiliations, especially those members of religious minority groups. So far, it has been incredibly difficult to find research on atheistic students, so I certainly see a benefit to what we are trying to accomplish, however, I am also concerned about finding enough information to ground our recommendations in a sound understanding of the college experience for these students. Additionally, religion itself remains remarkable taboo on most public college and university campuses in terms of conversation (but potentially not action; we still get most Christian holidays as days off), so being able to move the conversation forward regarding how to honor the atheistic students’ point of view in relation to the religious / spiritual development of all students. Also, doing this kind of work will hopefully give student affairs practitioners, faculty, and policy-makers permission to engage each other and students in conversations about the impact of institutional guidelines, pedagogy, and public policy in the overall development of students who identify as Atheists. My final thoughts on the course and its direction revolve around the notion of advocacy. As we have just discussed how to define our population, and are moving toward the identification of stakeholders, hopefully we will soon discuss what we mean by ‘advocacy’ so that our efforts can be aligned in the most efficient way possible.
