As a Catholic, I can confidently say that if I had not grown up in a liberal secular environment I would not hold the same religious beliefs I have today. Like many of the religious people I know here, it was only through the process of having to defend my beliefs to my friends and others that I progressed from a nominal faith to the more mature and intellectual convictions I hold today. From debating in classroom to mulling over life's biggest questions, argument and critical examination are necessary in order to holding fully formed views. That is why, as a Catholic and someone who cares about religious issues, I could not be more excited about AHA, Dartmouth's new group for Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics.
At Dartmouth, true religious discussion is hard to come by. Despite religion's important role in the development of subjects like philosophy, political theory and literature indeed, in all of Western intellectualism I have not yet encountered a course outside of the history and religion departments that included even a historical discussion of religion's influences. This is not unique to Dartmouth. In 2006, Harvard University underwent a review of its undergraduate curriculum, and the faculty voted against including a required world religions class, not so that it could fit in an extra math or language course, but because the cognoscenti of Cambridge thought religion was a relatively minor concern that "has no place in anything but a religious institution." That claim can be made, but doing so ignores recent history and the timeless philosophical concerns that still keep people awake at night.
While I've had some great conversations on the topic outside of the classroom, I find there is often a wall of respect in the way. "Oh, you're Catholic?" someone might say. "That's cool." Is that it? Of all the thorny theology and tricky social positions of the Church, I would hope the conversation could progress further than that. I've noticed the same phenomenon at the various "interfaith" discussion forums and dinners I've attended here. While the conversation starts down an interesting path, it soon devolves into the same platitudes and uninteresting discussion that we have heard time and again. At best, the participants leave with knowledge that they could have learned from 15 minutes on a few Wikipedia pages. In the words of C.S. Lewis, religious conversations progress "so rightly, charitably, spiritually, sensitively, so anything but usefully." As a result, talking about religion a topic which should incite excitement and passion is boring.
To be sure, there are bright spots on campus. The Dartmouth Apologia holds forums, conferences and other events that address the more interesting conflicts and conundrums in Christianity. The religion department and campus ministries hold some thought-provoking events that confront these issues head-on. But even with these efforts, true dialogue is hard to come by.
That is why I'm hoping AHA can jumpstart conversation. I went to their first meeting, and the group seems to be centered on a philosophic approach to these issues. The Apologia and AHA are already planning on holding a sort of written debate, in which each group will write papers and then respond to the other's points. The results will be published in a special edition of the Apologia. CiCi Liu '13, the founder of AHA, is committed to direct but respectful debate, and sees the need for such a conversation to happen at Dartmouth.
"I think that precisely because Dartmouth is such an intellectual campus, we need to engage in more open and critical discussion of questions concerning religious faith, morality, etc.," Liu said in an interview. "Encountering people with different beliefs than yours is where true learning takes place each person is forced to re-evaluate and substantiate her or his own beliefs and convictions, and exit the dialogue feeling like they learned something."
It sounds like AHA has a lot to offer campus discussion. Unfortunately, there is a major problem AHA is having trouble gaining official recognition. Due to some administrative confusion at Tucker over whether they constitute a "religious" group or not, the organization cannot receive a Blitzmail account or any of the other benefits College-recognized clubs receive.
I don't know how Tucker should classify AHA. I do know, however, that honest religious discussion is sorely needed on campus. If there is a group that offers to contribute to positive and productive dialogue, I think Dartmouth should be all for it.
