dewdrop87

I'd say that if you're a close minded before you come to Cornell...you'll most likely learn to be a little open minded before you leave.

I have some Republican friends...and I do not agree with their ideals but I've learned to deal with it. They're entitled to their opinion and I have to (unfortunately sometimes) respect it.

I considered myself pretty conservative before I came here.....but I've loosened up a bit. But I still have my issues :-)

Elgguj

thank you mrsopresident...thats the real truth

sashimi46

i feel like the religious scene at cornell is pretty active. at an event called "ivy congress on faith and action" at yale university this year, an event which invited all christian students from all ivy leagues , half of the people there were from cornell. that's pretty impressive

soccer_guy472

^ Makes sense..Cornell has the highest number of students...lol. If 3% of Cornell showed up, it would still dwarf 15% of Dartmouth showing up.

CayugaRed2005

Individuals who paint in such broad brushed strokes (like mrsopresident) obviously haven't reached a level of nuance and perception that one would hope a Cornell education would provide.

Just googled the Ivy Congress on Faith and Action... what a shame it seems exclusionary and limited only to evangelical Christians.

soccer_guy472

^ Well it's a Christian organization..shouldn't it be just for Christians..?

I'm sure missionaries don't invite buddhists on their trips..lol.

dewdrop87

^yes, but not all Christians are evangelical Christians.

I consider myself Christian, but certainly not evangelical.

Godsend

Are there any atheists organizations that are bent on spreading atheism aka love, peace, harmony, etc.?

sashimi46

cornell's student body is only slightly twice more than that of harvard's. cornell taking over half of the entire conference of eight private institutions is far more than simply the fact that cornell has more students than other ivy league schools.

i'm sorry but i know that in the christian groups at cornell, there is no distinction between evangelical christian and a christian. 'evangelical christian' is a political term and there is no such distinction in christian ideology. you are either a christian, or you're not

applejack

^^
Evangelicals are a distinct group that separate themselves from Catholics, Christian Mystics, Lutherans, etc... While they are not a specific denomination and draw from a few denominations, they do refer to themselves as "Christians" in a way that suggests they are the only true Christians. They dominate the radio and television airwaves (hardly ever hear progressive Christian radio or Catholic radio) and promote a version of Christianity that gives little acknowledgement to the value of other denominations or political perspectives, such as the moral responsibility to care for the poor, end frivolous wars, and protect the environment (progressive values) rather than focus on homosexuality and abortion and support military action (conservative values).

More on topic - I think you hit the nail on the head, elgguj, of why you perceive campus the way you do. I never knew my political affiliation or even thought about it until I graduated Cornell and moved to Washington, DC, where I was immediately forced to define my political affiliation (it's pretty much an ice-breaker in that town). I'm sure in history and government classes, that has been forced upon you far earlier than it was me. I found people in DC from all different schools and parts of the country equally intolerant - but only because their views were pushed into such a forum.

Mrsopresdient - if you are going to make such sweeping and, from my experience, misinformed accusations, you should at least explain the basis of your belief that people are so intolerant. I took classes across 3 different schools and never encountered such close-mindedness.

Elgguj

applejack...you kinda just made my point in your last senetence about evangelical christians. why should they have to support liberal values? would you ask the ACLU to be more open-minded about conservative ideals? would that even be fair to ask of a group like that?

i dont see why, in your estimation, its perfectly fine for groups to focus *exclusively* on the values you listed about caring for the poor, and ending war, and protecting the environment, but its not ok for the evangelicals to have their own platform that does not include any of those issues. That's quite a double standard....

CayugaRed2005

Right. Ask any Catholic whether or not they think there is no distinction between the beliefs of the Pope and the evangelical mega-church that is being built in exurbs across the country.

Considering the ACLU has defended the Klan, I think they're pretty open-minded.

No. The double standard is that evangelicals loudly and vocally claim to follow in the path of the teachings of Jesus, but by any elementary reading of the Bible, there are a lot of "Christian values" they are completely forgetting about. You could start with the values Applejack mentioned.

I know that there was both an atheist and secular humanist club when I was a student three years ago. Not sure what's on campus these days. Tons of student clubs get started and disbanded every year. But if you go off-campus, Ithaca is pretty much the East Coast mecca for hippydom; the Grass Roots Festival every summer in Trumansburg is a must.

dewdrop87

I don't know...I've come across many different "varieties" of Christians in my life and in my experience I've come to believe there are Christians and Evangelical Christians.

However...I do not wish to belabor the point since we all believe in the same principle and in the end, that's all that matters.

dontno

@ Godsend:

See my post on page 1.

applejack

Elgguj - I'm not saying anyone should support progressive values. I was simply pointing out that there is a group of Evangelicals that, over the past 30 years, has emerged to stake claim to the word "Christian" as if it is their own. I was simply pointing out that there are ways to be moral and Christlike without aligning with a political agenda.

I do not know any Catholics, for example, who would assert that evangelicals are not Christians. I have encountered many Evangelicals. however, who have stated about Catholics, "Well, they're not REALLY Christians". Meaning - they don't completely agree with me so they cannot possibly know the true Christ.

If you get beyond the rhetoric, you'll see that the ACLU is actually one of the most conservative organizations around. They simply ensure all people have equal rights guaranteed under law. That may be threatening to those who disagree with, for example, homosexuals asserting those rights. But when they defended Rush Limbaugh and the KKK, they proved the universal nature of their mission.

anyway - off topic.