The "religion" question

paying3tuitions
Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:34:44 +0000

I really have always thought it was just an option for kids to answer. Perhaps at some schools, the Neuman (spelling? I’m sorry, Catholic society for college students); the Hillel (for Jewish kids) organization has a way to contact those who have expressed interest to welcome them to worship services and weekday activities. Protestant chaplains might email students who register in their denomination to greet them as freshmen. But it should make no difference, whatsoever, in admissions against a student to leave it blank, unless perhaps the school has not only a religious foundation but an active, current mission to advance that faith.

It could be relevant if a private university or college has a religious affiliation, even if they don’t expect every student admitted to practice that faith. My own son’s university is affiliated with Disciples of Christ (we’re not of that faith). Naturally, they’d like to admit a cohort of students who register DOC as their faith. I’m sure it’s a factor there, just as is the geographic distribution they want. I never got the impression that DOC kids were so numerous they were crushing the chances of kids from other denominations. I certainly understand why a DOC-affiliated school wants to be sure to include a good cohort of DOC students, as this relates to the school’s continued identity, which plays into continued alumni support.

At Ivies, perhaps it goes back to when there were quotas against Jewish applicants to limit their total numbers on campus, for example at Harvard before WWII. By tracking the upswing in Jewish students after WWII, universities can reassure themselves they no longer practice such discrimination.

I wonder, too, if knowing the religious make-up of each freshman class plays into budget allocations for supporting organizations such as Hillel, Neuman, and Protestant chaplaincies. How can a school justify funding for a Neuman society, Hillel chapter, Muslim Imam, or Methodist (for example) minister, unless they know the numbers of such students?

I must say, I can’t think of any other time any of my 3 were ever asked by their college about their faith, except on admission applications. It was certainly their option to answer it, or leave it blank. They chose to answer it, to help insure services by clergy from their own faith, That’s all it meant to them.

One of their colleges had a policy NOT to pass along self-declared names to each student religious organization. This left it up to each student to find that organization, a fact which some parents didn’t know and assumed those prganizations or clergy would come out looking for those freshmen. Not so, at that particular school.

Nonetheless, my S was found out because he mentioned his religious self-identification on Facebook pages for incoming freshmen. Upperclassmen did a searchword filter, looking for new freshmen to email from their faith, and ask if they wanted to be greeted. If the answer was positive, they showed up to help move in during orientation. That was nice, although they talked more than lifted boxes, but okay. It was happy and friendships were made.