Southern Comfort | Give me that old time religion

We at Penn have a special love for the prefixes “inter” and “multi.” Our perspectives are international and our experiences are multicultural. Our curriculum is interdisciplinary and our studies are multiethnic. And our lives — ideally — are the better for it. The watchword is diversity. The goal is tolerance.

By and large, the formula works. Most students will graduate having learned to reassess old beliefs and to appreciate new ones. Yet the formula is not foolproof. There is one thing which, by recasting it in the moderate mold which cultural interchange requires, can lose much of what makes it unique. It’s a touchy subject for many, but remains a powerful determiner of campus life.

I’m talking about religion. More particularly, I’m talking about evangelical Christianity. As a proselytizing faith, it can be difficult for the religion to find its place in this framework of tolerance. And in doing so, it can compromise those very elements which set it apart in the first place.

Growing up, I learned that faith was something to be expressed with pride — and spread in earnest. Although my family was not outwardly religious, my evangelical Bible Belt community certainly was. I watched as many of my classmates were drawn into youth ministries and shaped into 11- and 12-year-old missionaries. To be sure, a lot of these young evangelicals were more interested in church-sponsored trips than the gospel of Jesus. Yet, a few believed what they preached, and preached it loud. They made a powerful impression on me and on my understanding of what real religious conviction entailed.

When I came to Penn, I wondered where all the Christians were. Aside from the crazy guys in front of the Button, evangelicals on campus seemed quiet and subdued. Those teaching about Jesus of Nazareth were less aggressive than those selling tickets for their upcoming a cappella concert. Coming from the evangelical heartland, the contrast was dizzying.

Penn’s evangelicals have fallen victim to the same doctrines of “inter” and “multi” which drive much of University life. This is illustrated by evangelicals’ early relationship with Programs in Religion, Interfaith and Spirituality Matters, an organization currently representing Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Catholic and Buddhist constituencies. Under PRISM’s initial guidelines, it would not recognize groups “[engaging] in acts of religious intolerance” toward other faiths. PRISM’s founders saw proselytization as akin to intolerance. Consequently, no evangelical group bothered to seek membership.

It is little wonder, then, that the evangelical community I found at Penn was more sedate than the one I left behind. According to Wharton senior and student leadership team Coordinator for Penn Students for Christ Phillip Cook, “Going out and ‘street preaching’ only succeeds in making Penn students more uncomfortable. There are many ways to introduce people to Jesus; a lot of it should be done through personal relationships.”

For PRISM’s part, the organization now appears open to re-examining its stance toward evangelical Christianity. In the opinion of Evan Schoenbach, Wharton senior and PRISM co-chairman, “Selective exclusion of religious groups doesn’t help anyone.” An interfaith dialogue should be just that: a dialogue between a multiplicity of groups, even ones whose beliefs fundamentally disagree.

Is it good, then, that evangelicals are moving toward claiming their place in Penn’s mainstream religious community? In many ways, it must be. Diversity is a hallmark of our University, and we can only stand to benefit from increased inclusion. Evangelicals have a perspective worth sharing, just like everyone else.

Yet I can’t help but feel that a core part of the evangelical experience has been tamed by a “diverse” community uncomfortable with proselytizing. There’s something to be said for people who believe so passionately in their faith that they feel compelled to persuade others to do the same. That kind of raw fervor is valuable. And it’s mighty hard to find at Penn.

Emerson Brooking is a College senior from Turnerville, Ga., and a member of the Undergraduate Assembly. His e-mail address is brooking@theDP.com. Southern Comfort appears on alternate Tuesdays.

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