{"id":4819,"date":"2011-09-30T09:25:39","date_gmt":"2011-09-30T15:25:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=4819"},"modified":"2011-09-30T12:07:01","modified_gmt":"2011-09-30T18:07:01","slug":"religion-on-campus-draws-crowd-spirited-discussion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=4819","title":{"rendered":"Religion on campus draws crowd, spirited discussion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Interfaith<\/a>Benjamin Broadbent used everything from relationship advice to Buddhist wisdom to convey the value of interfaith dialogue to UCCS students during the first event of the White House Interfaith and Community Service Challenge Tuesday at the University Center.<\/p>\n

The importance of religious and non-religious students getting together to talk about their beliefs and\u00a0 converting these discussions into service to the community was the theme of the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I got married,\u201d Broadbent, pastor, First Congregational Church said, \u201cthe minister who married my wife and me asked if I wanted to be right or be in a relationship. There\u2019s your answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Introduced by Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak, Broadbent, a guest at the inaugural event, was responding to a student\u2019s question if marriage between people of different faiths was possible or even recommended.<\/p>\n

In between personal anecdotes, Broadbent, other guests and university administrators called attention to the need for differing groups to engage while offering suggestions of how to bridge gaps while maintaining the differences that exist between persons of different religious traditions.\u00a0 The suggestions ranged from personal experiences to the theories of noted authors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was raised Catholic and taught to associate only with those who were Catholic,\u201d Peg Bacon, provost, said. \u201cBut when we were in college, my sister and I started going to other churches in our hometown. Our explorations helped open a whole new way of thinking. College is the time for exploration and thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kee Warner, associate vice chancellor for diversity and inclusiveness, Academic Affairs,\u00a0proposed that assuring that university is\u00a0a safe space\u00a0where questions\u00a0can be\u00a0asked and values explored without fear of retribution or criticism is integral to inclusiveness.<\/p>\n

\u201cTolerance is not enough,\u201d Warner said. \u201cWe have to have more if we\u2019re really going to learn from each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suggestions included tying one\u2019s own integrity to one\u2019s own vulnerability around these issues as individuals focus on commonalities rather than differences. Kristy Milligan, director, Citizens Project, shared the tactic of a friend who tries to focus first on what she likes about people who share views about abortion that are different from\u00a0 her own.<\/p>\n

For Jeff Scholes, instructor, Department of Philosophy, and director of the Center for Religious Diversity and Public Life, the event was exactly what he hoped for. Sponsors\u00a0 included three campus student groups, Campus Crusade for Christ; Colorado Secularist, Free Thinkers and Skeptics; and Coloradan Buddhist Society, groups that may not sit shoulder to shoulder often at university events. The students asked questions including what level of involvement the White House has in the yearlong activities and whether having discussions about religion was appropriate at a state-supported university.<\/p>\n

Milligan said the separation of church and state was designed to prevent endorsement or denigration of a religion, not discussion. Scholes assured the students that they \u2013 not administrators and certainly not the White House \u2013 will decide the future of the initiative. The discussion will continue at Clyde\u2019s in the University Center at 12:15 p.m., Oct. 4. The discussions are open to faculty, staff and students, and Scholes hopes they will foster a spirit of engagement around the topic of religion.<\/p>\n

The White House Challenge specifically calls for student engagement to generate community action.\u00a0 Along with the lively discussion of how and why students should engage the issue of religion, two community advocates for student service in local charities also spoke.\u00a0 John Weiss, publisher, The Independent<\/em>, encouraged UCCS students to become cyber champions for different charities selected by the paper\u2019s\u00a0 Give! Campaign. Steve Saint, director of the Pikes Peak Justice and Peace Commission, invited students to get involved in causes that his commission highlights.<\/p>\n

To see previous stories about the interfaith initiative, visit http:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=4705<\/a><\/p>\n

— Photo by Tom Hutton<\/em><\/p>\n

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