2008 Woodie Awards
RSSStop religious hatred
Editorial
By Edit Board
Issue date: 11/6/07 Section: Opinion
With all of Lehigh's difficulties with its northeastern Caucasian monoculture, students are still being offered a religious and international smorgasbord in the upcoming months. The Dalai Lama will visit and teach at Lehigh this summer, the creation of a Center for Global Islamic Studies is in progress for fall 2008 and 37 events for International Week begin this Friday. Each offer excellent opportunities for students, faculty and visitors to expand their cultural horizons, not to mention that most of these events will be entertaining.
But even benign educational events are able to attract criticism and hatred. Cultural and religious xenophobes are quick to make the absurd correlation that an educational study of Islam could be an endorsement of terrorism and non-American views, or that inviting the Dalai Lama, whose teachings and kindness over nearly half a century have made him almost universally respected, could be corrupting.
These crusaders of hate certainly have no problem with inviting religious or cultural figures of their own to speak at Lehigh or for the university to offer studies of American and European cultures. None see any problem with parading their values and beliefs, but viciously oppose those who discuss their culture and religion, even educationally. They're quick to fall back on America as a Christian nation or to create Sept. 11 hate mongering against Muslims.
Academic institutions, such as Lehigh, are critical learning spaces for religious decisions and discussion. Some students enroll with religion a large aspect of their lives, as others enroll with almost no religious experience at all. With parents out of the picture, students can make up their own decision on belief. Colleges shouldn't promote or oppose religion, but offer the resources and discussion space for students to make informed and unbiased decisions.
At Lehigh, religious persecution is relatively rare. Whether this is because people are genuinely tolerant, or simply that few are outspokenly religious is unclear. Regardless, religion extends into sociality, in that many are naturally inclined to seek out those of similar backgrounds, and for many, religion and cultural identity are a large part of those backgrounds. While not necessarily a bad thing, students need to remain open and accepting of other religion and cultures, rather than remaining comfortable in their blindness to diversity.
Hosting speakers from different religions, creating diverse cultural programs and encouraging a discussion about religion is an essential part of the educational process, especially at a school where peer-to-peer religious discussions are infrequent and could be improved. Teaching students to read religious texts critically, rather than as doctrine gives them the tools to make an informed decision about religion for the rest of their lives.
The Dalai Lama was quoted saying, "All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness, the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives."
It would be nice if some of religion's strongest believers felt and acted in the same way.
But even benign educational events are able to attract criticism and hatred. Cultural and religious xenophobes are quick to make the absurd correlation that an educational study of Islam could be an endorsement of terrorism and non-American views, or that inviting the Dalai Lama, whose teachings and kindness over nearly half a century have made him almost universally respected, could be corrupting.
These crusaders of hate certainly have no problem with inviting religious or cultural figures of their own to speak at Lehigh or for the university to offer studies of American and European cultures. None see any problem with parading their values and beliefs, but viciously oppose those who discuss their culture and religion, even educationally. They're quick to fall back on America as a Christian nation or to create Sept. 11 hate mongering against Muslims.
Academic institutions, such as Lehigh, are critical learning spaces for religious decisions and discussion. Some students enroll with religion a large aspect of their lives, as others enroll with almost no religious experience at all. With parents out of the picture, students can make up their own decision on belief. Colleges shouldn't promote or oppose religion, but offer the resources and discussion space for students to make informed and unbiased decisions.
At Lehigh, religious persecution is relatively rare. Whether this is because people are genuinely tolerant, or simply that few are outspokenly religious is unclear. Regardless, religion extends into sociality, in that many are naturally inclined to seek out those of similar backgrounds, and for many, religion and cultural identity are a large part of those backgrounds. While not necessarily a bad thing, students need to remain open and accepting of other religion and cultures, rather than remaining comfortable in their blindness to diversity.
Hosting speakers from different religions, creating diverse cultural programs and encouraging a discussion about religion is an essential part of the educational process, especially at a school where peer-to-peer religious discussions are infrequent and could be improved. Teaching students to read religious texts critically, rather than as doctrine gives them the tools to make an informed decision about religion for the rest of their lives.
The Dalai Lama was quoted saying, "All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness, the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives."
It would be nice if some of religion's strongest believers felt and acted in the same way.
