Emily Garrett | Have a little faith

On Christmas Eve, I watched as my grandfather, Pastor Garrett, read the Christmas scriptures I'd heard countless times during the annual candlelight worship service in Colfax, Iowa.

I knew almost every word to every carol we sang that night. But as I softly sang "Silent Night" at the end of the service I couldn't help but feel a fraud.

I have a confession to make: I can count the number of times I've attended church in the last two years on one hand. This fact would surely grieve my grandfather, a beloved Methodist minister who has baptized all his many children and grandchildren. However, aside from this minor twinge of guilt, I've felt little change in my life after withdrawing from organized religion.

And it seems I am not alone.

A recent UCLA survey of college students revealed that the proportion of students who frequently attended religious services before college dropped from 52% to 29% by their junior year. Penn may be a slight exception to the rule when our thriving Jewish population is factored into the equation, but the trend is, in all probability, very similar.

So, newsflash: college students aren't going to church. Well duh, right? What self-respecting college student is going to drag him or herself from warm sheets before noon on a Sunday, only to repent for whatever sins might have been committed the night before? It seems like a waste of time, considering they will most likely resume their blasphemous behavior in a few days' time.

Does this mean that young people have lost their faith? Has our generation doomed the world to fall into the depths of atheism and emptiness?

Somehow I don't think the outlook is quite so dismal. In fact, I've discovered more about God and the innate goodness of humanity from my friends, classmates, professors and strangers in the past two years than I ever learned by memorizing the names of the apostles or by staring at a crucifix.

College is a unique time. We're growing up and moving out to bravely explore the world on our own for the first time. When I got here, though, I quickly realized that I was just that - on my own for the first time, 1,000 miles away from everything I'd ever known. I was feeling very alone - and at the same time was surrounded by people feeling the same way - when I quit going to church and began a different kind of spiritual education.

While at Penn I've had lessons in the kindness of strangers, the strength of friendship and the passion for life and love.

I learned my first lesson during NSO (as many of us did) when a sophomore girl become my Good Samaritan while I was feeling a little queasy outside a frat house. I've been taught about compassion from tireless students who devote many precious hours working to improve the lives of the less fortunate.

And I have had innumerable lessons in true friendship, from the friend who rescued me when this small-town girl was stranded in West Philly to my roommate, who is never too busy or tired to talk when I've had a rough day, a frustrating class or a bad break-up.

All these lessons have been learned outside of places with stained-glass windows. I'm not opposed to attending services at a church, synagogue, mosque or wherever your preferred location might be; there is something powerful about the history and tradition of unified beliefs.

However, my personal spiritual enlightenment has been shaped by my experiences and contact with other people. I've gained faith in a greater power through seeing it in others, which is easier for me to do without dictated sermons and seemingly archaic rituals.

Perhaps this is the case for our generation as our attendance at organized religious services decreases while our spirituality remains a priority. But I can only speak for myself when I say that although my faith may not be as strictly defined as my grandfather's and I may not have an impeccable church-attendance record, I do have an unshakable belief that He exists and shows His face to me through my friends, family and even strangers each day.

Emily Garrett is a College sophomore from Waukon, IA. Her e-mail is garrett@dailypennsylvanian.com. Carpe Di-Em appears on Tuesdays.

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