What do you get when a money-grubbing Jew, a cow-loving Hindu and a polytheistic Catholic walk into Huntsman Hall? An event that breaks down common religious barriers.
Last night's introductory meeting of Programs in Religious and Interfaith and Spirituality Matters featured a heated discussion about religious stereotypes to kick off the organization's second year.
About 20 mostly returning members representing various religious groups on campus gathered to comment on a variety of stereotypes that ranged from "Jews are racist, greedy and cheap" to "Catholics have three gods."
The event allowed people to "express underlying feelings," said PRISM chair and College senior Jon Weiner.
"People were honest," he said.
After a brief introduction from University Chaplain William Gibson, who called PRISM "one of the greatest opportunities at Penn," Weiner passed out sticky notes to each member, directing everyone to jot down a few stereotypes they knew about each religion, and then to organize themselves by the faith they affiliate with.
"There were many common misconceptions," said College sophomore Radhika Gharpure, a new addition to PRISM .
Gharpure dispelled some of the common myths associated with her faith.
"Hinduism is [actually] monotheistic," she told a room of surprised faces.
While some stereotypes stemmed from a lack of knowledge, others were simply popularized slurs.
"All the negative things people wrote down are things they hear or get in the media," said Wharton senior Megan Mayer, a representative from the Newman Center, Penn's Catholic ministry.
Mayer offered her perspective on the Catholic trinity.
"The idea of the Trinity is that it's a mystery, or three manifestations," she explained.
Jewish students were faced with explaining many common anti-Semitic prejudices.
"We're 'racist,'" College sophomore Malka Fleischmann read aloud from a sticky note. "I hope not."
She added that one reason Jews were viewed as greedy stemmed from medieval times when they worked primarily as merchants.
Wharton sophomore Saara Hafeez explained that Islam is not the violent religion it is perceived to be - rather, that conception is the result of a small minority that misrepresents Islam as a whole.
While some members found the discussion engaging, others were underwhelmed.
"In the past, discussions were more substantive. But today we discussed and dismissed mostly superficial stereotypes," said returning member and Wharton and Engineering sophomore Nechemya Kagedan.
"There could have been tension, but people chose not to take it personally," he added.
Weiner, PRISM's only returning board member, wants it to "serve as the connector between the different religious organizations and bring religion to the forefront" this year.
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