Summary: Personal Experience At The University Of Puget Sound

I believe that the most pressing spiritual and religious need for students at the University of Puget Sound is the ability to understand each other. Many students at our university do not know much about other religions, and many do not even care. In my personal experience as a student, I have discovered that many students who do not identify with a religion look condescendingly upon students who do. Many students believe that organized religion is an oppressing institution with irrational, blind followers. They do not respect those who believe in a G-d, and even question these students' intelligence. I believe that this comes from a place of ignorance and lack of understanding. I believe that our student body is clearly divided in the …show more content…
When looking closely at the main principles of the religions present on campus, many cannot see that the practices differ, but the values remain. For example, most religions believe that kindness to others and to strangers are critical. Values such as these do not only connect separate religions to each other. These values connect people who do not identify with a religion but identify with spirituality. These values connect people who do not identify with religion, spirituality, or faith, yet hold these values as the path to follow to be a good person. Unfortunately, many people have not had, or do not seek, education that would show them all of these similarities. To respect and understand each other, the student body must learn about the values that we all hold dear. Many of these values differ, but all are equally valid. One of the primary reasons why students choose to enroll in private liberal arts colleges is to be able to take classes and study topics and concepts that they would not have otherwise encountered. While this manifests often as students such as art majors taking science classes, many students have a mental block towards religion. I believe that education in religion and spirituality is essential to unite the student