Today’s college students are more preoccupied than ever. Between classes, exams, parties, Facebook, Twitter, career planning in accordance with the recession and the fascinating rituals of Zen Booze-ism, religion seems to have receded into the background.

Simultaneously, in the “real world," religion is losing ground. According to the Guardian, in Japan, although 75 percent of the population label themselves as “Buddhist," temples are often empty and transformed into tourist attractions, and monasteries are running low on cash. A Survey by Christian Research show that by 2050, Sunday church attendance in the UK will fall by over 90% to less than 88,000, compared to just under a million at the moment, reported the Guardian.

Words of wisdom: Myron Taylor is quoted on religion in a memorial in Anabel Taylor Hall.

Here in the U.S., almost all traditional religious denominations saw a significant decline in participation rate, and the percentage of Americans who claim no religion at all has almost doubled from 8.2 percent in 1990 to 15 percent in 2009, according to a study conducted by Trinity College.

The reason behind the decline is complex and multifaceted. “Most commentators suggest that Americans carry the general national trait of ‘individualism’ into their religious behavior, and that [Americans] place a great influence on secular aspects of religion in picking a place of worship,” Prof. Larry Moore, American Studies, stated in an email. “[They ask unspiritual questions such as] how does religion provide a community for people like me? How does religion sustain my political and economic views?  How can religion help me teach my children morality?”

“There is less societal pressure to proclaim a belief in God. It is not, in other words, simply a cultural default to believe in God,” Ryan Dirks grad, an English Ph.D. candidate who majored in Religious Studies as an undergrad, stated in an email. “Furthermore, I think the rise of the religious right, and various forms of cultural conservatism related to religion, has led many to reject religion.”

Others, like Rabbi Jason Leib of Cornell Hillel, attributed the decline of religion to a loss of identity and an increased disinterest in one’s heritage. Religion is like family, which connects us to the past and provides a sense of self that allows people to function better in society — and for many, abandoning religion will mean abandoning parts of who they are as individuals.

“Perhaps it has something to do with globalization — as much as people try to be different, they drive to sameness, even more so than before,” Leib added.

However, the story is different here at Cornell. Spirituality is alive and well under the leadership of Cornell United Religious Work (CURW), and religious groups on campuses actually saw expansion in the past few years.

This is even more astounding when Cornell’s history is taken into consideration. Unlike other Ivy League schools, such as Harvard, Yale and Brown, Cornell was not founded on religious principles. In fact, Andrew Dickson White specifically stated that religion and academia should be separated. All the chaplains who work at CURW are neither employed nor paid by Cornell, but merely “affiliated” with Cornell.

According to Reverend Dr. Kenneth Clarke Sr., the Director of Cornell United Religious Work, there are currently 3,500 self-identifying Jews on campus and approximately the same number of Roman Catholics. As a figure of comparison, the target size of the undergraduate class of 2013 is 3,150 students.

The number of religious organizations on campus grew from 24 to 29 in the past nine years. Membership of Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship mushroomed from five core members to 40 to 50 in three years, according to Pastor Matt Herman. Hillel, the umbrella Jewish organization on campus, grew as well, according to Rabbi Kate Speizer.

Prof. Shawkat Toorawa, faculty in residence of Mews Hall and faculty adviser to Cornell Muslim Education and Cultural Association (MECA), noticed a significant increase in the number of visible Muslim students on North Campus. This trend applies to Cornell’s vicinity as well: At Ithaca High School, which Toorawa’s daughter attends, the number of visible Muslims increased from two or three to 10 to 20, Toorawa explained. “On any given night, if you look at the schedule [of Anabel Taylor Hall] for the week, virtually all rooms are used for activities,” Reverend Clarke said.  

Last Friday night after class, religious services at Anabel Taylor began at 6 p.m. with Jewish Shabbat activities. After a long week of schoolwork, boys in yarmulkes and girls in dresses and heels from three Jewish sects — Reform, Conservative and Orthodox — gathered in their respective rooms. Friends who had not seen each other all summer hugged and caught up on gossip, and new faces were welcomed with love and enthusiasm. They sang, they prayed, they bonded. Laughter was the sound that filled the silence between prayers and songs.

An hour and a half later, Muslim students broke their Ramadan fast in the One World Room two floors down. After some brief socializing, students gathered on prayer mats in rows. Following Islamic tradition, men and women were separated by a wooden screen as they prayed, but there was no difference between their level of concentration and spiritual devotion as they knelt and prayed in the direction of Mecca.

Spiritually inclined: Muslim women pray in the direction of mecca inside Anabel Taylor Hall.

The only audible sounds were the prayer and the sound of rain falling lightly against the window sills. For a moment, nothing else mattered in the world.

Of course, one cannot break a fast without serving a divinely delicious feast afterwards.

The Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship began their meeting at the same time in McGraw Hall. The energetic pastor in his late 20s, Matt Herman, was dressed casually in a brown polo shirt and light-wash blue jeans. After some prayers and an announcement of a smoothie and movie night (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Black Pearl, bring your own fruit if you can), Herman said one Chi Alpha member is going on a bike ride around Cayuga Lake on Saturday for charity, and he took out a large yellow t-shirt for Chi Alpha members to sign for him to wear so that the group would be with him during the ride.

“I know that bike riders usually get tight fitting clothing,” apologized Herman, attempting a Lance Armstrong-inspired pose. “But since this is cotton it will sweat right on you,” he chuckled.

College is without a doubt a transitional period in most people’s lives. For many students, the freedom that comes with being away from home opens up an overwhelming number of new opportunities and distractions. Knowledge and viewpoints are constantly updated, and students must navigate through this new jungle of information to find a suitable direction in life.

Some will hold on to their hopes and beliefs, some will adjust their goals prudently as they see fit, and some will simply become lost in the process. The faith of religious students, just like everything else, is up for grabs — some will grow more intimate with faith, some will drift further away.

“I’m atheist because it makes sense,” Nishant George ’11 stated in an email. “I used to be a strong Christian, but as I grew older and examined my childhood convictions more critically, I realized that I’d been turning a blind eye to the fallacies of Christianity and the church — its mistreatment of other religions and cultures, its denouncement of gays, its rigid moral code, and its politic-ridden day-to-day dealings. Religion is on the decline because people are getting smarter, not because they’re getting more arrogant.”

“College is a time when people test their margins of freedom,” Reverend Clarke said. “It is a time of examination and reexamination.”

Raised in an African-American Baptist home, Reverend Clarke personally decided to accept Christ into his life at the age of 10. However, as he entered his teenage and college years, the new possibilities he saw in life led him to a period when he “wrestled with matters of faith” because he did not “understand the direction” of life that he was being pulled into. He struggled so much that he did not attend church for seasons while he was in college, yet he graduated with a deeper understanding of faith, he recalled.

“When students come to a university like Cornell and decide to stay unengaged, whatever faith in God they held previously is most likely going to be overshadowed by the time and attention given to new experiences or responsibilities,” Herman said.

“I am aware of the decline in religion throughout the U.S. and I think it is a rejection of past forms or perceptions as to who a Christian is,” he continued. “My hope is that those perceptions would change and a new generation would reflect the core of historical Christian belief in new forms of personal and social transformation. I am joining that generation as I try to discover more of Jesus and how my life should reflect his character.”

Most religious organizations on campus do not actively “recruit” people to convert to their religion. Instead, they aim to provide self-identifying religious students with the support they need to sustain their faith, and make some life-long friends along the way. For Hillel, “creating meaningful personal relationships with students” is their most important goal, said Rabbi Jason Leib.

In addition to the religious practice of Judaism, Hillel also works to enrich students’ understanding of the cultural and intellectual aspects of the Jewish faith. Hillel’s “takeout menu” has nothing to do with Kosher food in white plastic containers — in fact, it is a menu of free classes on Judaism and Jewish culture that student groups could “order” for free, even if they are not Jewish.

Like just about every other organization, social events, such as bowling and movie nights, are a chance for students with similar beliefs to strengthen their sense of community, as well as a breath of fresh air from the daily grind of the college schedule.

Although there is only a one-letter difference between the words “divine” and “divide,” different religious groups, even ones with a history of conflict, coexist peacefully here. The University community is educated, open-minded and willing to listen, and although “religious pluralism will lead to the formation of small groups, the university instigates opposing forces all the time,” Toorawa said.

“In American colleges, there is a healthy relationship to religion, not a knee jerk reaction,” he added. “People accept religion as part of one’s identity, not all of one’s identity, not an absolute label.”

While the academic environment welcomes conversation, it is difficult to speak about religion without stepping into sensitive political waters.  Just last semester, Gaza protestors covered the Arts Quad with black flags that were later destroyed by students of the opposing group, and a homosexual student was asked to step down from a leadership position in Chi Alpha, which resulted in campus-wide discussions of homosexuality and faith as well as a student organized protest vigil which attracted more than 200 people. Yet, at Cornell, the practice of faith has rarely been influenced by politics, according to Toorawa.

Group prayer-apy: Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship engages in song during a regular meeting.

“The influence of the Arab-Israeli conflict is pretty low on campus,” Toorawa said. “Occasionally a few vocal students will throw things out of balance, but for the most part they are very civilized. In the [rest of the] world, I think politics has a needlessly high impact on religious life.”

“There are always others who will disagree [with what we believe], and we accept that reality,” Herman added.

“For me, the [political issues involved are] not a challenge, even rather encouraging to see students being active and expressing sympathy,” Leib said. “To me, the Middle Eastern conflict is a political power struggle, not a religious issue. That is a common misconception about religion. Often genuinely religious people [who congregate about this issue] find respect, friendship and understanding.” he said.

Ultimately, CURW’s success is rooted in the active, open-minded Cornell community, which is “more than happy to accommodate people,” Toorawa said.

Dining hall stations that respect both Kosher and Muslim laws are set up at North Star, developed by Food Science professor Joe Regenstein. Due to the efforts of Susan Murphy ’73, Vice President of Student and Academic Services and Kent Hubbell ’67, Dean of Students, Muslims, who are required to pray five times a day, are now allowed to pray outside Anabel Taylor. Even though CURW is facing budgetary shortages due to the University wide budget cuts, campus religious leaders are confident that the community will figure everything out.

“Our goal is to support student life holistically,” Reverend Clarke said. For example, right now CURW is working to help staff and students get through the current financial uncertainty.

“People know change is going to happen, but do not know how,” he said. “We will try our best to provide spiritual guidance. Otherwise, we will provide a listening ear.”

The Divine and the Swine

• In Afghanistan, the only pig in the country, which lives in a zoo and functions to show the 99 percent Muslim country what a pig looks like, is sadly being quarantined. — BBC News

• In Israel, the media refuses to use the term “swine flu” because pigs are not kosher during the first few weeks of the outbreak. —U.K. Telegraph

• Also in Israel, people are trying to cure H1N1 with “flying rabbis”: rabbis and kabbalists flew across Israel in an airplane, where they blew the shofar, a horn used for Jewish religious services, seven times and said many prayers. — CBS News

• The Church of England eliminated communal chalices at service so people will not contract swine flu from sharing wine from the same container. — BBC News

• In Sweden, more fortified wines are used for the communion cup to fight off swine flu. — Fox Memphis

• Legendary healer, Evangelical preacher Dr. Lee of South Korea, vowed to rid Israel of swine flu after a preaching session last week, conducted entirely in Hebrew. — Jerusalem Post

• Devout Roman Catholics are no longer allowed to kiss the vial of St. Gennaro’s blood in Naples, Italy. In France, instead of kissing, children are asked to put the name of the person they wish to kiss on a piece of heart shaped paper from a “bise box,” and simply give it to them. — Ethiopian News