Indifferent Majority Confronts Organized Religion At Harvard

"Amen." Morning prayers had ended and about thirty bedraggled students trudged out of Appleton Chapel into the grey mist of Cambridge. They had arisen twenty minutes earlier than most undergraduates to attend the brief, daily service in the rear of Memorial Church. Part of a minority in the college, they share a distinction with approximately 15 percent of their fellows; they actively participate in religion at Harvard.

Participation as defined by four university clergymen means a regular activity, either service or worship, in a religious organization on or near the campus. And for many students at Harvard, participation in organized religion begins with the United Ministry. This voluntary organization, formed by recognized ministers of all faiths and denominations, has the official responsibility for every student in the university. Some members of the United Ministry, like the Congregationalists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians, have very little formal structure to facilitate participation. Others, like the Jews and Catholics, have a great deal. But, for each of these groups, organization (or lack of it) bears directly on the question of religion's role, its problems and the type of commitment it can expect from undergraduates.

Organization Falters

Undergraduate independence and activity in contexts other than the church is the prevalent philosophy of the Congregational Presbyterian representative at Harvard. Since these two dominations began cooperative activity in 1949, the emphasis has shifted from participation in the congregation to welfare work. Two years ago the Congregational Presbyterian Student Fellowship dissolved though lack of interest, and at present no formal institutional structure exists. While students occasionally hold seminars on religious topics, most Congregationalists or Presbyterians who work through the United Ministry do so in PBH projects like mental hospitals and civil rights.

Presbyterian minister Richard Mumma believes that today civil rights "is the best way in which a religious organization can function in this community." Congregationalists and Presbyterians should view themselves not so much as members of a Christian organization, but rather as Christian people within the University who have a deep concern with the world."

"In fact," Rev. Mumma adds, "a concern for organization would be detrimental to our aims."

Value Judgment

For Congregationalists and Presbyterians the "ultimate goal is that people in the college should be able to discover the richness of their faith without being overly organized in religious institutions." Students, says Rev. Mumma, should avail themselves of the community and abolish the dichotomy between the religious and academic life. In the university, a student is often confronted with abstractions and with a number of alternatives; Rev. Mumma feels that the importance of religion is to help people make value judgments.

In the last few years, the interest of Congregational Presbyterian students has been numerically smaller, but qualitatively larger, Rev. Mumma contends. During World War II many Americans found God in a fox-hole, and in the late forties church building and attendance increased abnormally. In the fifties, religion became for many a "social rather than a moral obligation." But today, it is no longer the "good" thing to do, and, as a result, Rev. Mumma believes the "inner rewards are now greater." This accounts for the rising social consciousness which is "in a sense a religious phenomena."

According to Rev. Mumma, roughly 15 percent of those students who indicated either a Congregationalist or Presbyterian affiliation on religious preference cards distributed at registration give an active commitment to their faith. Although he would of course like more students to work in PBH and would like a greater attendance at services if "interest is genuine," Rev. Mumma sees no specific problems. "I feel badly that we cannot say, 'Look, here is where we meet, and here is what we do.' I feel pressure both from the past and present to organize students into a congregation. But I think it is wrong to be institutional when it is not the time to do so. This is not the best way to be a religion."

Episcopalians

The recent history of the Episcopalians at Harvard parallels that of the Congregationalists and Presbyterians. Like the Congregational Presbyterian Student Fellowship, the Episcopal student organization, the Canterbury Club, has simply withered away from disuse. Now Sunday discussion groups at the home of the Episcopal chaplain, Rev. William J. Schneider, serve as the only for focal point for organization. "A club tends to be restrictive," says Schnider. "It isn't that people couldn't come, but it does appear like a closed thing."

Like Rev. Mumma, Rev. Schneider does not favor organization, for in his view the church has too often been an irrelevant institution which has not addressed itself to the world. "The church is in frightful condition everyplace," he maintains. "What time has been spent, has been wasted to conform to contemporary culture."

In his view, undergraduates who happen to be Episcopalians (there are nearly 1,000 at Harvard Radcliffe) should strive for academic excellence, not overly concern themselves with church activities. Schneider feels that the Episcopal church has viewed the university as a breeding ground for secularism for too many years; this merely leads to frustration and causes a cleavage between the church and the community to which it is supposed to minister.

The result, says Rev. Schneider, is that the church "forgets what is the most important point of all: that an institution which is honestly involved in the educational enterprise is by virtue of its involvement a holy institution." Rev. Schneider stresses the need for "those of us who are so called church people to shift gears--to consider the holiness and godliness of the university and to speak of this. Perhaps then a dialogue between the church and the academic community can take place."

Jewish Tradition

In contrast to the Congregationalists, Presbyterian, and Episcopalians, Jewish students in the college have access to a distinct organization. Separate Hillel societies exist at both Harvard and Radcliffe; executive committees meet weekly to establish a program; and there are representatives in all the Houses and Halls.

Whereas the Protestants hope to establish a oneness with the academic community, many Jews seek a means to understand or give expression to their tradition. "Hillel for many Jews means a community," says Rabbi Ben-Zion Gold, associate director of Hillel. "If a Jew recognizes himself as a Jew this means that he wishes to act as such. For some it means to hear a lecture, for others it means lox and bagels, and for others it means worship."

Over half the Jews who signed religious preferences cards, however, do not belong to Hillel; many consider it a form of self-imposed segregation. Such people are "trying to move away from the restricted life of suburbia," suggests Rabbi Gold. But, he continues, "they fail to see that Harvard itself is a form of segregation in its uniqueness, and that they will need Judaism later. Being a man of the world and a Jew are disjunctive to these students. Hillel attempts to show what the broader context of religion may be."

Still with a membership of 350 out of at least 800 Jewish undergraduates at Harvard and Radcliffe Hillel manages to attract a higher percentage of potential members than most other religious groups. "I am pleased with what we get, but I can't say that I'm happy with the status quo," Rabbi Gold emphasizes. This year Hillel's membership is 75 less than the total for each of the past two years. But because registration coincided with the High Holy Days making it difficult to contact prospective members, Rabbi Gold considers this a random occurrence rather than an indication of a downward trend.

'Non-Dramatic' Rise

In fact, both the number of activities and general attendance at Hillel has increased "non-dramatically" in the past few years. Hillel's program includes religious services, lectures on the Jewish tradition, courses in Hebrew, socials, folk dance classes, and publication of Mosaic. The lectures and services get the greatest numerical response, and this is consistent with Hillel's central goal to provide Jewish students with religious services and instruction. Civil rights work is a secondary aim of Hillel, although Rabbi Gold stresses that "this must be considered a paramount concern until the situation is better and there are enough organizations working in the area."

Many problems that beset Hillel are familiar to most Jewish communities in this country; there is the urge to assimilate; the inability to share holidays with the majority, and a great disparity between the attendance on Holy Days and the rest of the year. Yet other difficulties can be attributed to the particular situation in Cambridge. Hillel House, for example, is a 25 minute walk from the houses, far enough to discourage many students from going there regularly. And the university atmosphere hampers participation. Many students do not want to continue religious activity at the expense of trying something new. Rabbi Gold recognizes that "on Friday night at a quarter to eight there are a thousand things to do besides attend services."

Nonetheless, he detects a change in religious attitudes. Students are breaking away from the fundamentalism and unthinking obeisance to religion which often marked their background. But instead of shunning religion altogether, students have shown less piety and more interests. Although there is no religious revival, Rabbi Gold points out that there is more participation and a greater concern with the Jewish tradition as a proper field of study. Ultimately, be feels, this will strengthen Hillel specifically and Judaism generally.

Well-Organized Catholics

Just as a unique tradition survives as the cohesive force which draws Jews to Hillel, so the centralized authority of the Catholic Church attracts students to the Catholic Club. Like the Jews, Catholics at Harvard have a well organized and well attended program. The Catholic Student Center, is two minutes walk from Lamont on Arrow Street, houses a library, offices for six chaplains, and small chapel. There are club representatives in each House, and they meet twice a month to help the executive board plan future activities.

Also like the Jews, a relatively high percentage of Catholics have an active association with their clubs. This year 570 undergraduates indicated Catholicism on their religious preference card and 190 of these pay dues as members. To students participation, each Catholic chaplains to determine his attitude on the Church and his interest in the Catholic Club.

Chaplain Joseph I Collins has observed a study increase in the activities at the Catholic Club in the past few years, although he does not feel that students have changed their ideas about religion. Not unexpectedly, masses have the best attendance of all activities associated with the club. Lectures too receive a good response. And the Catholic Club holds mixers, art exhibits, concerts, and publishes Current.

"In providing an opportunity for Catholics to mature and sanctify themselves," Rev. Collins faces several difficulties. As with other religions, both studies and extra-curricular activities draw people away from a more active Catholic life. "Students are not joiners," says Rev. Collins. "They refuse to join because they think they will have to do something. This supposed responsibility would prevent them from acting independently in social or intellectual contexts and so people shy away." Catholics especially may value the freedom at Harvard because many have a comparatively strict background. Moreover, many students think Catholicism sets them apart from their follows. They are encouraged by the variety of choices available to drop religion to a minimum, namely Sunday mass.

Nonetheless Rev. Collins remains optimistic. "The freedom at Harvard does make people think for themselves and think about the reality of God. If they come back to the faith in an active way they are inevitably much better Catholics."

All four clergymen said there was a constant or slightly diminished numerical interest in religion but all detected an increase in the strength of commitment. Still, the new commitment is probably attributable to a general quickening of social consciousness, and suggests that any marked change in organized religion at Harvard is highly doubtful