Not one of them who took up in his youth with this opinion that there are no gods ever continued until old age faithful to this conviction.
—Plato
A little known fact is that all Ivy League institutions were founded by different Christian denominations for the education and preparation of their ministers. Indeed, the concept of the modern university was developed in Europe for the education of Catholic priests. While Brown University, along with the other Ivies, has long ago shed its Christian affiliation, a more recent development is the decline in religious sentiment among students.
While surveys show that the number of students calling themselves atheists peaked in the early 1970s, a great many Brown students do not believe in God. Brown’s secular atmosphere is a relatively recent development. In fact, as recently as 30 years ago, 80 percent of Brown students had religious affiliations. Today, fewer than 40 percent of Brown students are active in a religious group. Even more dramatic than the decline in religion among students are the growing differences between the religious composition of the United States and Brown. It would seem that not only is Brown’s political temperament different from America’s, but its religious composition is similarly out of step.
Religious interest does tend to decline to its lowest levels for people in their teenage years. College is probably the first time students are responsible for attending religious services without their parents’ prodding. Without parents to make students go to church or temple, many do not attend services in college. A recent campus survey supports this view: 70 percent of students made an effort to attend services at home, compared to only 23 percent when these same students are at Brown.
While students are away from their parents and familiar surroundings, they also often face a university environment that can be hostile towards Christianity and other traditional religions. I will never forget the professor who once started class with the statement, “Let us discuss the greatest myth of all in Western society, the Bible.” Whereas departments such as Philosophy and Religious Studies once taught courses based on the works of Thomas Aquinas and other great thinkers, professors now avoid any authors who write about objective truth. Though universities are supposed to be arenas of free thought where man’s greatest ideas are created, attacked, and revised, many professors have chosen to ignore any subject that is remotely connected with Christianity. Thus, morality and ethics are discussed with no mention of deity, soul, or sin.
Christian morality and philosophy are thought outdated; Christianity is often viewed as the basis of the Western culture that must be removed from the curriculum to replace the “Eurocentric” bias with a more healthy, “tolerant,” and “diverse” course selection. Christianity is quickly reduced to prohibitions against homosexuality, pre-marital sex, and equality for women. Though few take the time to actually analyze and discredit the historical evidence for, or claims of, Christianity, many are quick to reject the Bible’s and the Church’s claims of divine inspiration. Christianity, because of its opposition to alternative lifestyles and its claim of unique revelation, is often viewed as an enemy of the university’s cardinal virtues of tolerance and diversity.
Karen
Opposing the general trends, Karen actually came to college without a religious affiliation and then began searching for a church. While attending a public high school in New York, Karen observed other students with strong religious convictions and felt a void in her life. She promised herself that she would search for God, or anything else that would fill the void, once she reached college.
Upon reaching Brown, Karen was true to her word and started attending meetings of Brown Christian Fellowship (BCF), a student-led group affiliated with Inter-Varsity. She joined one of BCF’s small groups, designed especially for students who are examining Christianity for the first time, and attended services at a local Baptist church, the church of many BCF leaders and members.
Because of her grandmother’s Catholicism, Karen was tempted to explore the Catholic faith. She was discouraged, however, by her small group leader, an ex-Catholic, and her adult sponsors at the Baptist church. Karen volunteered for an evangelism mission to Mexico during her winter break and returned to Brown convinced that Catholics worshipped Mary and practiced idolatry.
Karen chose to be baptized at her church that spring, without being inducted as a member of the Baptist faith. She was still not ready to commit to any particular denomination. Because of her amazing spiritual journey during her freshman year, Karen caused quite a stir when she returned to campus in the fall with an intense interest in Catholicism.
Always curious about Catholicism, Karen had never found satisfying answers to her questions. She joined study groups formed by other students investigating Catholicism and began questioning the historical and biblical evidence for the Church. Though she lost many friends in the process—including her sponsors at the Baptist church, who warned her against joining “Satan’s Church”—Karen eventually felt that God was directing her towards Catholicism.
Gretchen
Though Gretchen arrived at Brown as an active Christian and soon became involved in BCF, she often felt that her liberal politics were inconsistent with Christianity. Many students at Brown viewed Gretchen’s commitments to Christ and to causes such as feminism, labor, and social justice as conflicting loyalties.
Gretchen embraced her Protestant background and rejected Catholicism as representative of a Christianity tainted with the evils of sexism, homophobia, and even elitism. Not content with rejecting Catholicism for herself, Gretchen felt compelled to confront those students who were either Catholic or investigating Catholicism.
Gretchen even entered a confessional to debate an Opus Dei priest about Catholic doctrine. She emerged with a triumphant smile and announced that he had not been able to answer her questions. Disappointed by her attitude, her Catholic friends silently gave up hope and complained among themselves that Gretchen would never understand Catholicism.
Trying to escape the pressures of school, Gretchen visited an Opus Dei center with her Catholic friends the very next day. Even as her friends were still complaining about her attitude, Gretchen spent hours talking with a woman at the center and praying. Gretchen shocked everyone, including the woman, when she announced she was becoming Catholic.
Charlie Baldwin, former Chaplain of Brown University, has witnessed the general decline in religion, especially among Protestants, during his 30 years at Brown. In 1958, roughly 60 percent of Brown students were affiliated with some sort of Protestant faith, while today that number has dwindled to about 15 percent.
Explaining the sparse attendance at Sunday morning services, Baldwin attributes the decline to students “applying their critical apparatus to religion.” While at Brown, students go through “a maturing process so that their religious faith is less canned—more sophisticated.” Attempting to please the broad spectrum of Protestant faiths, university services instead draw criticism from most students. Many find the services, which replace “Our Father” with “Our Parent” and rarely mention salvation, too liberal compared to their home churches.
Despite the declining interest in organized religion on university campuses, many individuals remain committed to their faiths and are active in fellowships and churches. The atmosphere at Brown seems to have polarized the campus. On one side stand those students firmly committed to their faith; on the other are those students who greet God with either hostility or indifference. The atmosphere often forces students to choose one side or the other.
Groups such as Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC) and BCF, which stress the fundamentals of Christianity, are flourishing on campus. Matt Skinner, a former president of CCC, remarks, “Though Brown students are apathetic to religion in general, when questioned many are ignorant of Christ or Christianity and have distorted views of the Gospel.” Tom Reeder, a former small group coordinator in BCF, notes “general increases in BCF membership despite the fact that most Brown students seem to be seeking something different from the ‘norm.’ ” Though both BCF and ccc appeal to primarily Protestant, mainly fundamentalist, students, both do provide a relatively friendlier environment for a variety of students to explore all aspects of Christianity.
Triane, Moira, and Stella
Moira, a former vice-president of CCC, was raised in a Catholic home, but rejected Catholicism because of the lack of zeal and spirituality in her home and parish. She instead embraced a non-denominational Christian faith and became very active in CCC, attending retreats and evangelistic outreaches. Moira only began investigating Catholicism out of fear for her family’s fate; she was curious to learn if Catholicism guaranteed their salvation because of their baptism as infants.
Triane, a charismatic Christian who became president of BCF, was enrolled in a Catholic school when she converted to Christianity. Yet she never understood Mass or other aspects of Catholicism, and instead attended various non-Catholic charismatic churches. Once at Brown, Triane became very active in a local chapter of the Vineyard, a growing denomination of charismatic churches. As a member of a co-ed fraternity with an affinity for beer, Triane did not fit the traditional stereotype of a BCF member, but was made president because of her intense spirituality and dependence on God. Soon after becoming president, Triane suddenly felt a need to look into Catholicism, especially regarding the papacy and Mary, and joined Moira in her search.
Stella, another charismatic Christian and member of the executive committee of BCF, was first introduced to Christianity by her elder brother. Growing up in Singapore, Stella became more involved in the Episcopal Church and observed both Catholics and anti-Catholics alike. Though established in her Episcopalian faith, Stella chose to attend services at a Chinese church upon coming to Brown and actually resembled a fundamentalist more than an Anglican. Unsettled by the conversion of a close friend, Stella attempted to disprove Catholicism. Despite her initial intent, Stella gradually, and often unwillingly, began understanding and accepting Catholicism.
Moira, Triane, and Stella shocked their respective churches and fellowships when they investigated and converted to Catholicism. All resigned from their leadership roles, but continued attending meetings of their fellowships. Ironically, every Christian fellowship at Brown, including a black gospel choir, was led by a Catholic during that year.
These are but five of the many students who discovered Catholicism at Brown during the period of two years.
These events were so remarkable that many of the students listed above, along with another student named Pearl, travelled to the Vatican to be baptized by the Pope during Holy Week. These same students also made a presentation about the events at Brown during an international conference in Rome.
Many have attempted to understand the many conversions by searching for a common link. Though it is true that many of the students belonged to the same fellowships or were even good friends, many of the students had never met each other until after their conversions. Many started with some form of Christian faith; some, like David and Moira, merely returned to their Catholic roots; yet others like Karen and Younga arrived at Brown with no defined religious affiliation. Some were foreign students; a few were science majors; a vast majority were female. Each found God in the Catholic Church through an intense and personal spiritual journey that involved both intellectual questioning and praying.
These short vignettes present a very abbreviated summary of the processes each individual endured. All spent several hours in CCD classes, studying basic doctrine and explaining their decisions to confused and occasionally hostile friends, churches, and families. At one point, a very confused and frustrated Stella announced that she “would never become Catholic, even if God wants me in the Church. Even if the doctrines are true and based on Christ’s teachings, I cannot accept Catholicism.” It was a very painful, and yet rewarding process for Stella and the other students gradually to submit their wills to God and search for truth.
The decision to become Catholic was only the beginning of a longer process that eventually resulted in baptism and/or confirmation. Gretchen and Younga, another recent convert, still await their confirmations and are currently enrolled in doctrine classes. Catholicism’s complex doctrines and rich heritage require months of intense study; the very depth that makes Catholicism so attractive also discourages many potential converts who feel overwhelmed by the process.
It is ironic, and noteworthy, that all of these students faced so many obstacles and still found Catholicism at a secular university. Though the Catholic chaplaincy at Brown is well-staffed and very active in community projects, all of these students discovered Catholicism through personal example and prayer. They were influenced and motivated by the examples of others, curiosity, and lack of fulfillment.
David
David, originally from Nicaragua, arrived at Brown as a Christian in name alone. Though raised Catholic, David was more interested in partying than praying during his freshman year. Despite frequent contacts with students from both BCF and CCC, David remained aloof from the religious groups at Brown.
Only gradually and through social events did David become more familiar with the students and leaders of CCC. David had become bored with student life and was looking for something more meaningful than Sunday morning hangovers. He began attending conferences and retreats; soon, David was experiencing the joy of knowing Christ. As a result of his conversion, David took the issues of daily scriptural devotions and salvation very seriously. David was still slightly undependable; his faith was unpredictable and subject to many sudden changes depending on his temperament.
During a break from Brown, David was advised by an uncle to return to the Catholic Church. David realized that the Christ he had found in CCC had always been present in the Catholic Church from which he had wandered. Upon returning from break, David was incredibly enthusiastic about volunteering to teach CCD in a local Portuguese community. To prepare for teaching, David attended many doctrinal classes and made the decision to seek confirmation. He has matured into a very devout and informed Catholic; his faith does, however, still reflect his extreme enthusiasm and emotions.
Parents, anxious about their children’s faiths while at college, can take comfort and also learn from the events at Brown. The “Brown Incident” proves that individuals with a sincere desire to know God can and will overcome even the most difficult obstacles, even those found in modern secular universities. College students are establishing their own independent identities for the first time; it is natural for them to question everything they accepted as children, from politics to religion.
Parents can and must provide their children with thorough educations about their Catholic faith and the support they need to live that faith. Individuals like David and Moira do return to their Catholic upbringing when given the opportunity. The key is to provide each student with a solid foundation from which to build his or her own faith. Without a basic knowledge of the Catholic faith and the Church’s teachings, any student will soon be overwhelmed by the opposition Christianity faces in many modern universities. Children who attend religious services merely to please their parents soon abandon their faiths in college; students must understand the reasoning and revelation that makes their faith unique, relevant, and true.
Few students are finding comfort or peace in the weakened forms of Christianity being practiced by many university chaplains. Like Brown students, many of them leave campus to attend local churches or join groups like BCF or CCC. Tired of meaningless sermons which do little but accept the prevailing view, many are attracted to Catholicism’s doctrinal purity, spiritual intensity, and historical consistency.
The “Brown Incident” may not be as historically significant as the “Oxford Incident,” when Cardinal Newman and other Oxford scholars converted to Catholicism. But these Brown students have proven that God can accomplish exciting things among those searching for His Truth.