Religious Life on Campus
Religious life on campus is not something often discussed. Pew Research says 37% of Massachusetts residents are non religious, and only 50% find it very or somewhat important, compared to 65% of Americans in general.
Bridgewater State does not collect religious information from its students, so it can be difficult to get a good gauge on our religious population. Anecdotally, most students do not seem to be practicing any faith.
Another way to gauge how religious students on campus are is by how they effect the attendance of nearby churches. There are five churches within a walking distance of the University, and three of them responded to this article. Central Square Congregational and Trinity Episcopal Church do not see any noticeable increase during the school year.
St. Basil Chapel, located near the underpass between east and west campus, however, thrives from the university. “I’ve noticed [mass attendance] increase in the last few years” says Father Rodrigo. The Newman Catholic Association is the student club that works with the church to hold events on church grounds. They also hold their own events on campus.
Hannah Robinson, the head of the club, says that she finds Bridgewater State to be generally supportive of the club, a consistent theme with some of the other religious organizations on campus.
The Newman Catholic Association and the student organization Alpha Omega have seen membership growth this year, fitting a nationwide pattern of increased religious attendance at many churches.
Another theme, however, is that some Christians feel uncomfortable expressing their faith on campus. Desire Ndihokubwayo, President of Alpha Omega, thinks that being a Christian on campus is “not impossible, but it can definitely be a difficult journey,” owing to a campus culture that often does not align with Christian values.
Erin Rawnsley, the treasurer for the Newman Catholic Association, feels that telling others about her faith “can be daunting, since I’ve seen it poorly received myself.”
A reason for this may be the emphatic embrace of politics by some Christians. “We have begun to look for belonging in our politics rather than our faith communities,” says Reverend Suzane of Trinity Episcopal Church. “I think Christians are as prone to conflating our politics and our religion as anybody else, and it’s hard for us sometimes to tease those apart.”
