U.'s Christians and Jews: Two groups facing many similar struggles

The campus's two largest religious communities seek to create appropriate spiritual environments for students. Christianity is by far the dominant faith in the United States. This is not necessarily the case at Penn, however, where Jews are found in much greater proportion than in the country as a whole. And while the United States is clearly a Christian country, many students identify Penn as a Jewish island. The two largest religious labels with which Penn students identify themselves are "Jew" and "Christian." A recent survey of 250 random undergraduates conducted by The Daily Pennsylvanian found that 23 percent identified themselves as Jewish while 47 percent did so as Catholic or Protestant. Yet beneath these figures lie two populations with such diverse backgrounds and beliefs that not all members even feel they are part of the same group. Jews and Christians at Penn face many common challenges, including issues of attracting a diverse group of students to their events and reconciling religious beliefs with sometimes contradictory intellectual pursuits. Though the number of Christians at Penn is double the amount of Jews, the campus's Jewish presence is highly visible. With many students viewing Penn as a Jewish campus, the largest challenge facing many Christian groups may simply be reminding Catholic and other Christian students that Penn is "not a one-religion campus," according to former Newman Council President Christine Albanese, a College senior. While Admissions officers said they could not give exact numbers, Hillel estimates that about 3,000 Penn undergraduates are Jewish, constituting 25 to 30 percent of the University undergraduate population. The percentage is similar to that at several other Ivy League schools, but Penn has a larger student body, giving it many more Jews in real terms than other Ivies. Hillel President Ami Joseph said "the culture at Penn has been that Jews do not have to assimilate or forget their roots." Although students are quick to identify themselves as Jewish, Joseph said many seldom question or think deeply about their Jewish identity. "Jewish students feel at home here," the College senior said. "However, this comfortability leads often to complacency in which people don't question and explore the why and the how of the Jewish identity." Penn Jews also face the challenge of reconciling their religious life with academic pursuits, according to Rabbi Howard Alpert, who oversees the Hillels on all Philadelphia-area college campuses, including Penn's. "The main problem [Jewish students face] is integrating the intellectual side of their life with their spiritual side," Alpert said. "Growing up in a world that is highly secular, students have to learn to balance fitting into the world with spirituality." Engineering sophomore Craig Englander, tri-chairperson of Penn's Orthodox Community, said he is open to exploring theories and studies that contradict his religion because it is one thing to "learn and understand what other people think, but another thing to accept it." But he said he does find it difficult to "reconcile the accepted rational thinking and religion." "If someone brings me a 65-million-year-old dinosaur fossil and my religion says that the world is only 5,000 years old, if he says to reconcile the two, then what do you say?" he asked. "To what extent do I reject religion and accept the theory?" Such tension between spirituality and rational thinking is also present in the Christian community. University Chaplain William Gipson, who is responsible for overseeing and coordinating religious activities on campus, said practicing Christian students are often challenged by a "real or perceived sense that some members of the University community view religious belief and intellectual pursuits as incompatible." Many are challenged with the notion that "one cannot be a rational person and believe in God, especially Christian belief in God," Gipson said. Ian Sneed, a staff member of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship -- the campus' largest Christian group, open to both Catholics and Protestants -- said he feels that Christian belief does not discourage rational thinking because "God is the creator of the Universe and pursuing the knowledge and truth about this world is a spiritual endeavor." Sneed, a 1993 College graduate, said the evidence for his beliefs is "not airtight with 100 percent proof -- nothing is." "But the weight of evidence is so strong that I can reasonably conclude that the Bible is trustworthy, that Jesus actually did exist as a person, was nailed on the cross and rose from the dead," he said. Just as Jewish organizations on campus say they often face the challenge of attracting students who have become distanced from their religion after leaving home, Christian groups also face the challenge of creating a religious home away from home at Penn. The DP poll showed that 52 percent of the 175 people polled who said they belonged to a religious organization at home said they no longer attend any services at Penn. Albanese said finding a new religious group is just one of the many transitions students must face when beginning college. "Students undergo several transitions including finding new friends," she said. "Students can really find a new home in their respective religious community. The Newman Center and Hillel strive really hard to create that sense of home and community." At the same time, Albanese said the wide variety of beliefs and practices within each religious denomination make it "hard to create groups where everyone is going to feel welcome and at home." And trying to attract new members can cause image problems for some Christian groups, who claim they must deal with being dubbed "pushy" or "intolerant" when they choose to evangelize and share their faith on Locust Walk or other areas on campus. "Many evangelical Christians -- evangelical being distinct and different from fundamentalism -- felt that their view of Christian evangelism is sometimes considered an intrusion on the rights of others," Gipson said. "For these students, telling others about their faith is part of their faith. So they find it difficult when their understanding of evangelism is viewed as proselytizing." Most of the letters and columns written about Christians in the DP have discussed their method of evangelism, especially during Jesus Week, which takes place this year the week of April 6. The influx of letters and guest columns -- written by non-Christians and Christians alike -- discusses the issue of intolerance and the freedom of religion, focusing on the allegedly "pushy" Christian doctrine that Jesus is the only way to heaven. "I do not question the value of Christianity or the absolute good that its philosophies bring about," wrote Amar Kosaraju, a graduate student in the Dental School and Graduate School of Education, in an April 1997 column. He attributed India's high literacy rate to the work of missionaries who spread Christian philosophies. "But I do object to the infringement of other people's religious rights," Kosaraju wrote. "I should not be told what I believe is wrong or told that I will end up in hell." Engineering senior Mike Felo, a Bible discussion-group leader for InterVarsity, said he is surprised at the amount of feedback evangelism gets on campus. "Walking up and down Locust Walk, people are trying to shove all kinds of things in my face like tickets for a show, money for the poor and I think people, including myself, try to avoid it for that very reason," he said. "But when a religious group is out there, all of the sudden people are highly offended to the point of writing letters to the DP." Felo compared evangelism to the many salespeople and fund-raisers on campus. In all three cases, people are enthusiastic about something and they want to share it, he said. "Evangelism for a Christian is a natural product of excitement and enjoyment of their relationship with God," Felo said. Wharton senior Li Ling Tan added that there are different styles of Christian evangelism that are not as visible as "contact evangelism."

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