ETSU held a panel on religion and spiritual identity that featured a variety of students from different beliefs for a peaceful discussion on what they believe, why and how this is factored into their college life. Religion and politics seem to be the two topics that are generally avoided in everyday conversation between college students and colleagues.

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In the past, I would not think a panel was a great strategy since people tend to use these two topics to define whether you are a “good” or a “bad” person based on whether or not you agree with them. But times are changing and people have become more welcoming of our diversity in recent years, so why shouldn’t we discuss our faith?

There are certain things that factor into the life of a college student that makes it more difficult to practice faith in college than it did when their parents were responsible for getting them to church, mosque, temple, synagogue or other religious buildings. 

I know for myself, one of the biggest issues with balancing faith in college is having time to pass my classes, work full time, have a family and social life and also spend time working on my faith without putting it on the backburner. It is really hard to do. I think something that would help is having an environment to talk freely of faith without feeling like we are going to be shamed for believing something.

Campus ministries and clubs are a great resource for people who are struggling with their faith in university. These allow a way for those who want to be around people who encourage them in their faith to do so. I would also like to encourage everyone to branch out a bit and go to an event or meeting sponsored by people of another faith. “Be the change you want to see in the world”.

The thing is, we live in the South, but Johnson City is a very culturally and religiously diverse city to live in. For this reason, topics like religion should not be avoided and thought of as taboo. If I cannot ask a friend why she does a certain thing because of her faith, then who can I ask? We need to ask each other questions and learn from each other, rather than shutting each other out.

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