Column:

Not suitable for dinner conversation

By John Hendel

Published Jan. 23, 2007

LONDON — Unless they're trying to win your soul, most people don't bring up religion. Like politics, the topic tends to make others mad and frustrated, which doesn't help with digestion after a good family meal.

I'm generally thankful for this. Religion is not an easy topic for me because of the number of debates and outright arguments that emerge when it's brought up. The easy route is to shrug and nod — can't piss anyone off that way, right?

MU has its fair share of religion. Whether you're talking about the Campus Crusade for Christ, the Newman Center, Monday Night Worship or Brother Jed, Christianity, specifically, is a prominent campus force.

And that's cool, for the most part, unless you're talking about Brother Jed's rants or some random, intense evangelism, which does bother me.

I attended church services at Westminster Abbey in London with my friend, Jack. We barely made it, running on less than four hours of sleep after a debacle of a night at some indie dance club, but God, was I glad I did. The service was intimate as all hell and a special men's choir provided unearthly, beautiful music throughout the whole hour.

But in addition to my wonder at the majesty of the ceremony, I was shocked by the lack of people. My friend and I expected to be fighting past hoards and queues to enter this landmark place of worship, but I doubt more than 60 people showed up. One tour guide had remarked that London has a lot of churches but no one in them.

Europe's secular nature fits more with my own. Despite the state religion, I have encountered virtually no overt signs of the evangelical proselytizing I occasionally saw in Columbia and in films such as "Jesus Camp." I find this refreshing after spending many years in the Midwest. Even at Westminster Abbey, the echo of quiet tradition resonated more than any drastic call for a crusade.

I lack a belief in any religion myself. Agnostic, atheist, heretic, Epicurean — all those are fair labels. My father had been a Catholic priest for 36 years, so Catholicism colored my childhood. And though no Arkansan Baptist school by any means, a Catholic grade school had hold of me for seven years. I was an altar boy. Yet by the sixth grade, I found believing impossible.

This puts me at odds with a lot of American culture. A majority of people deride several of my political positions, whether we're talking "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, teacher-led prayers in public schools and even the mention of God on our money. That's fine, but I dislike the smug attitude that I often observe — the one that implies that I'm less of a person or lacking something because of these positions. On the whole, I consider myself a rather ethical person.

I've come to notice two cultures exist at MU, built around the more fundamentally religious on the one hand and secular on the other. Like night and day, you can see the different types of parties, the different political blocs and the radically different values, not to mention the source of them. Few address the deepness of this divide, but it stands out starkly to me. Faith informs critical elements of a person's worldview, and unless the person barely pays religion a thought, faith will shape them.

Generally, I follow my advice and keep my mouth shut on religion, but the Westminster Abbey service compelled a column. I bear no ill will toward most religious individuals, but I request understanding and tolerance in return. I think someone told me they preach those values.