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Sitting in a circle on the floor, eating pizza and exchanging ideas, over 40 students gathered to grapple with their different perspectives on religion last night at the East Balcony room in the George Sherman Union.
In an open forum dubbed “Different Perspectives,” three students of different faiths, Orthodox Judaism, Evangelical Catholic and Hinduism, described their perspectives on religion.
Students gave a brief synopsis of their religion and how they incorporate their beliefs into daily life.
“How can I relate Hinduism to everything else in the world?” said College of General Studies sophomore Raakhee Mirchandani, “The principle of Hinduism is being respectful, tolerant and open to all sorts of different religions.”
For Mary Del Olmo, Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences sophomore, religion can contribute to individuality. “Relationships I develop with people are reflective of my relationship with my God,” Del Olmo said.
Students not only discussed different religions but addressed different levels of faith as well. Speakers as well as students worked at making the distinction between orthodox, conservative and reform Judaism.
“It is a very fine line,” said College of Communication sophomore Elisa Iteld. “The difference is not so much in observance as much as in beliefs.”
For a number of students, the event helped to shed light on religions many students may not be familiar with.
“Religion is a full institution that is under attack,” said College of Arts and Sciences junior Justin Ryan. “People are afraid of it and hesitant to talk about it. This was contrary to people’s dispositions. They were willing to talk.”
Some students said the informal setting added to the event.
“It made everyone more comfortable,” Iteld said. “It’s impossible to sit in front of a group of people and say ‘Now we’re going to talk about religion.’ You can’t do that because, in talking about religion, tensions rise up.”
“The format was a very informal, non-intimidating group setting that was very facilitating,” said School of Theology graduate student Brad Rice.
The event, organized by students of the MPC in as well as Dean of Marsh Chapel Robert Thornburg, functioned to open dialogue between the diverse crowd at BU.
“Our goal was that students would get a better understanding of where different students are coming from so we can bridge our differences and start to have some type of interfaith dialogue,” said Adam Shomaker, student leader of the MPC.
“Interfaith initiatives is one of my dreams and tonight was one of its manifestations,” Thornburg said, “The mountain is higher than we originally thought. The top means I have to ask myself tough questions first and then listen to others talk about their religion. We have a long way to bring closure.”
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