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"Religious Organizations Spark Criticism on College Campuses"

Source: The Daily Tar Heel (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill)
Date: February 12, 1998
Author: Ashley Ryneska


Religious organizations on college campuses across the nation might soon encounter an entirely different revelation.

The Campus Freethought Alliance recently jump-started a movement that is opposed to conventional campus religious organizations.

"Our major concern is that there is no voice for the nonreligious students or students no longer satisfied with the beliefs given to them," said Tim Madigan, editor of Free Inquiry, the magazine that serves as a promoter of CFA.

Derek Arajuo, a Harvard University student and CFA president, said extremist religious groups were becoming more prevalent on college campuses and permeating universities with messages of guilt, reason and intolerance.

The CFA serves as an alternative to joining religious groups like Campus Crusade for Christ, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Margaret Harig, a member of the Campus Ministers Association, was offended by the accusations made against religious groups on college campuses.

"(Campus Crusade) is respectful of the faiths and traditions of others," Harig said.

"As a professional campus minister, I can promise that (campus ministers) do not aim to brainwash or convert people."

Harig referred to the philosophy of the Campus Ministers Association in defense of herself and other campus ministers across the United States which states, "We advocate dialogue and debate on the great religious questions, yet we resist the [manipulation] on and coercion of people, especially for religious reasons."

The rapid growth of CFA raises the concern of whether campus religious organizations have exceeded their boundaries, pushing their beliefs on other people.

Steven Boussios, a member of the UNC Campus Crusade chapter, said college students were especially vulnerable to religious coercion.

"For anyone to feel confident in their beliefs, they should fully consider all other aspects," Boussios said.

"Some (religious) groups close down students' minds, causing them to reject anything that doesn't conform to their preconceptions."

Boussios said that the CFA could be beneficial to the University's atmosphere because it would give students an alternative to traditional campus organizations.

"No rational student should bind themselves to a single creed without keeping an open mind to other ways of seeing the world," Boussios said.

"This new organization is in an excellent position to contribute to the discourse amongst college students."


This article was retrieved from www.unc.edu/dth/archives/1998/02/021298/unc.html#0
 

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