<p>My daughter is attending a state university in VA as an out-of-state student and will be a freshman. We are semi-practicing Catholics–we go to church two or so times a month, but I will confess to missing every now and again. My daughter recently learned her roommate is a member of “Young Life” and has attended their camps, etc. I am trying to let my daughter form her own opinion, but I have heard some mixed reviews about this group. Anyone have any experience with this type of situation?</p>
<p>Young Life was very much a social group at our HS. Kids from all denominations. In fact, we chuckle as some of the kids that are actively involved are the known by their peers as the " party kids".</p>
<p>Young Life is a wonderful organization. My son went to one of their summer camps and had a great time. It’s a Protestant group, but I think your daughter will be safe with her roommate.</p>
<p>I think you’re worrying about nothing. Will your daughter pressure her roommate to convert to Catholicism or join catholic youth groups? If her roommate asks her to attend a young life event she just has to say no, or I’m not interested. That should be the end of it.</p>
<p>I have to agree. DS’s roommate this fall will be an International student from China and DS has no idea what religion he is. Most kids do not go to college to convert someone to their religion. I think your D will be ok.</p>
<p>I’ve only heard good things about Young Life. She’ll be fine ;)</p>
<p>I think you are worrying over nothing. If there is an issue, your D or the roommate can talk to the RA and maybe switch roommates for spring semester. College is all about learning and being exposed: new cultures, new religions, new stuff period.</p>
<p>My niece was involved in Young Life in h.s. She went to one of the YL camps one summer. She dropped it when she went to college. She wasn’t overly “religious” during college. She could party with the best of them. I know this because my S2 ( a year older than his cousin) attended the same university as niece and they often crossed paths on the social circuit. She was a very normal college kid, just graduated in May… Summa Cum Laude.</p>
<p>Young Life is a very popular group in our neck of the woods. Most of the “popular” kids go to the weekly meetings and camps. It’s not anything to worry about, IMO. It’s just like any church youth group - some good kids, some serious about their faith, some just in it for the ski trips, etc.</p>
<p>I don’t have any experiences with people from Young Life in particular, but I’m a devout Catholic, and I had a Protestant roommate last year. (She’s Presbyterian, if I recall correctly)</p>
<p>It really wasn’t TOO awkward. She was fairly religious, too, so she’d usually go to her church the same time I went to mine on Sundays. I’ll admit that I don’t know a lot about Presbyterians, but I know they’re different than my sect of Christianity. </p>
<p>Basically, she asked me to come to church with her after we became closer, and I politely explained to her how I couldn’t due to Canon Law and all of that. She also wondered if I wanted to study the bible with her and her group of church friends, and I politely declined that as well. She kind of gawked at me the first time she saw me doing the rosary and when I had the ash cross on my head on Ash Wednesday, but besides that, we maintained a friendly religious distance. </p>
<p>To be honest, I probably had a harder time with my religion when we discussed Catholicism and Protestantism in my European Lit class. I was the only serious Catholic in the room, so I was left to do all the explaining when we discussed how pre-Enlightenment literature (like Dante’s Inferno) was based off of Catholicism. Everyone else then had the floor to bash my religion while I rebutted and my professor kindly tried to stop the heated “class discussion.” 
</p>
<p>In general, I’ve found religion to be a very sore spot in college, be it at the personal or classroom level. If you stay strong to your religious morals, you’ll get people who will try and “break you” by tempting you to drink and engage in reckless behavior, and in class, you’ll get those who try to degrade your religion just to create a little ruffle. </p>
<p>I’m still working on it myself, but I think developing a thick skin is the best way to deal with religion in college. :)</p>
<p>My niece was VERY involved in YL in high school, and after her first post-college career of a couple of years in marketing, she went to work for YL as one of their ‘counselors’. As counselors or youth group leaders, whatever they’re called, she had to fundraise part of her salary, so many years ago (and five kids ago for her!) I started making a monthly contribution to YL; when she started having kids and quit YL as her job, I just never got around to stopping the monthly EFT transactions, and to this day, I still donate $25/month to YL because I know how instrumental this group was to her in her teen years, and she appreciates it. Yea, she and her H are somewhat on the evangelical side, and take their faith very seriously, but I wouldn’t say she imposes her beliefs on her friends and/or family.</p>
<p>Current high schooler chiming in here. My high school just formed a YL chapter (I guess they’re considered chapters? 
) this past year, and my youth group has gone to one of their camps before. Great organization; everyone’s really nice and the camps are a blast (very high energy) and the students at my school who attend YL meetings come from all denominations (including some kids who are still forming their religious beliefs) and the meetings are all very open and laid back. I’d imagine same for the college ones. Yes, it’s a Protestant organization, but I think even a couple Catholic kids come to the meetings at our high school. They aren’t likely to convert to Protestantism, but they just like the fun, high-energy atmosphere. Definitely not a bad thing or anything, more like, as someone else said, a youth group.</p>
<p>As a non-religious person, it’s so funny to read about religious people worrying about what other religious people might do to them. I don’t know what that says to us, other than let’s all live and let live. No one can make you believe anything you don’t want to believe.</p>
<p>middlebrook thank you for thoughtful post.</p>
<p>Middlebrook - I’m surprised you are saying you can’t attend another religions service. I was raised catholic & attended one of the big Jesuit universities. The best theology class I had (we were required to take 3 regardless of our major) was ‘Protestant thought & theology’. Like you I had never been to anything but a catholic mass, however, the class required us to attend 4 protestant services - 2 mainline,1baptist & 1 evangelical and write a ‘review’. </p>
<p>I am now a Methodist and find a huge difference w Catholicism is the prominence of the bible in teachings vs catechism in the Catholic Church. (FYI - I has 8 yeas of parochial schools followed by 4 years in all-girls catholic hs). </p>
<p>I suggest you attend a service so you can broaden your life experiences. How would you respond if you needed to attend the wedding or funeral of someone at a non-catholic church?</p>
<p>I never imagined that this would be an issue for anyone. I’ve also never heard of Young Life, so perhaps it is a more radical group than I am imagining.</p>
<p>My freshman year roommates were Catholic and Protestant, and I am somewhere between the two. None of us go to church while at college and we lead secular lives. Perhaps this is why it was a non issue. My best friends since elementary school have been Jewish. My home coming date was Muslim. I currently live with people who practice Hinduism, Judaism, and Protestantism. I can’t imagine caring.</p>
<p>A large number of students at our local HS are involved in YL. Many of them are Catholic.</p>
<p>*Middlebrook - I’m surprised you are saying you can’t attend another religions service. I was raised catholic & attended one of the big Jesuit universities. The best theology class I had (we were required to take 3 regardless of our major) was ‘Protestant thought & theology’. Like you I had never been to anything but a catholic mass, however, the class required us to attend 4 protestant services - 2 mainline,1baptist & 1 evangelical and write a ‘review’. *</p>
<p>Middlebrook may have meant that she couldn’t go to another church in lieu of Sunday Mass…and that would be correct. Certainly if she goes to Mass on Sunday, she could also attend a prot service with a pal…and certainly go to a prot wedding (or any other wedding).</p>
<p>I have a completely different take on this I guess. College is a time to learn about others, ourselves, respect our differences, and not be threatened by those differences. My son is Protestant. His roommate first year, and three roommates second year were Jewish, kept kosher, and were active at the campus Hillel. He was often invited to events, many of his friends were there and graciously attended, respecting their customs. Another one of his good friends is Muslim. His girlfriend first year was a feisty Irish Catholic (democrat to boot) that pushed his buttons and made him think about his own opinions (loved her!!). It’s not about trying to convert anyone or change their way of thinking. This should not be a threatening thing. IMO it’s about opening your mind to other cultures and religious practices that you may not be familiar with, having discussions with people and finding out why they believe what they do, and being challenged in why you believe what you do. Being challenged is not the same as disrespect and trying to change what you believe. I think college is a time to really own what you think morally and spiritually beyond ‘because this is the way I was raised’ or ‘because mom and dad think this way’. Challenging makes you think about how YOU feel and ultimately makes you stronger in your convictions on a personal level. I think this is all part of what we send our kids to college for and I love that my son is being exposed to so many different people, learning to respect and honor their beliefs, and doesn’t feel threatened to join them when invited to participate. I want his world to be global and that includes tolerance and respect. It does not exclude the convictions he chooses for himself.</p>
<p>For those who aren’t familiar with Young Life, it is a non-denominational Christian youth organization. Groups like these (and Navigators or Campus Crusade) are often called “para-church” organizations. It is not affiliated with any particular church, but promotes evangelical Protestant theology. They have non-ordained local leaders (typically post-college young people) who organize the local chapters. The weekly meetings are like most Protestant youth groups - they meet, play games, eat snacks, have a worship service with music and a short sermon. Kids are encouraged to bring friends, but they are never pressured (or shouldn’t be) to join or be baptized. The national organization has summer camps all around the country, which are pretty typical of church camps everywhere. </p>
<p>I am a United Methodist minister. Many of the kids in our church also go to Young Life meetings. While the YL theology is a little more conservative, and neo-Calvinist, than I believe, I don’t think it is a bad organization. Anything that gets kids to think about their spiritual life and their relationship to God is a good thing in my book. My only beef with it (and with other evangelical programs) is that sometimes kids are encouraged to be “re-baptized” if they were baptized as infants. As Methodists, we discourage this and I will explain to the kids why. But, in the big scheme, that is a minor issue for me.</p>