Opinion Religion In College: How Has Your Faith Changed?

[namjiwankaur]

Huff Post had an interesting article on how college education effects a person's religious beliefs and practices.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...igion&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008#slide=1464815

The included slide show is interesting also.

How has your education effected your religious beliefs? I didn't go to college so I can't share from that perspective. Yet because I didn't go to college, I decided to follow the example of Abraham LIncoln and educate myself. This led to studying and learning about all religions. Its been an interesting journey. I think I have a stronger right-side of the brain (creativity, contemplation) than left side (reasoning/logical). It is perhaps because I didn't go to college. Instead I found creative ways to learn about things like art, sociology, etc..

Looking forward to hearing from others on this topic.

 

[Kanwaljit.Singh]

I have seen a Sikh Student Association in University of Waterloo. It helps in the students get together after classes and have some relaxing discussions on Gurbani.

 

[justosh]

I am a amritdhari in Nescot College.... the studying does not effect my beliefs.... but i have to remind my self that money is not the ultimate goal (since i am studying business ict combined)

i am the only practicing sikh (as far as i know) in the whole college, so in-terms of vichar i have it with non-sikh , but on the Ik Ongkar..... not religion...

but no complaints..

 

[Ishna]

My family is not particularly religious so from ages 0-13 I was pretty secular. The closest thing resembling religion or spirituality which was shared with me was tarot, numerology, astrology and superstition from my mum and Christian activities at Easter and Christmas at school.

When I was 12, in the last year of primary school, my teacher divided the class into groups and assigned us a religion to study. My group got Sikhi. That was my introduction but it didn't mean much to me a the time.

When I started high school I found myself on the outside of the social sphere (not really that surprising huh? hehehe) and turned to fantasy books and fiction writing to keep myself amused. I hung out with a small group of geeky guys with one or two girls in the group - I get along much better with males than females and my interest in fantasy stories (dungeons and dragons and magic and clerics!) and computer games didn't sit well with the girlie groups.

Being in a male social group I put up with playful teasing because of my gender and hearing a lot of misogynistic slurs (which they would just use in their everyday language, not real hatred of females, it was just how they spoke).

Put that together with the way women are portrayed in the media and I became more of a feminist.

Around 14 I had a spiritual awakening and started exploring religions. It was the last 90s, Wicca and Neo-Paganism was hot, and I wanted to elevate the female status, so Goddess worship seemed natural to me and off I went.

I have one memory of high school education having an impact on me and that was in the modern history subject when we had to watch a movie about war called Heaven and Earth or something like that. It had nasty scenes of rape and torture of the lead female character and I got so upset I stormed out of the class and it just intensified my Goddess-worshipping drive.

There was also a new Muslim who joined my Social Studies class - he had a charismatic impact on the boys in the class and proceeded to tell them about how evil witchcraft is and how apparently I was a freemason? Again just added to the rebellion.

Within months of leaving high school (yaaaaay!) I was on the hunt for more spiritual depth and it was at that moment I thought 'what about that Sikhism religion I heard about in primary school' and the rest up to now is history.

So I would say it wasn't so much the education that had an impact on my faith but the social environment which messed me up.

I am forever grateful to my year 7 teacher for assigning me Sikhi to study at that impressionable age.