Here’s my latest contribution to the Beacon’s opinion page. This piece is similar in subject matter to one I did in August (I think it was August), but I used different arguments and did not use the first person. The following is as I submitted it (slightly longer and more pompous). I’m going to try something new and include the links where I got my information. I haven’t been accused of making shit up, but I don’t wanna be. The links to the respective webpages are at the bottom, after the article. You can find the article as it ran on the Beacon’s website (http://www.berkeleybeacon.com/home/) if you like. This week’s pieces weren’t posted when I went to look for them. Alas, who needs to read opinion at 2:30am anyways? I’ll take the hint. Goodnight.
Chris
On Sunday mornings, the Emerson campus is just about dead. However, a number of students rise early on Sundays, braving the deserted campus to go to church. More than 40% of Americans regularly attend religious services, but among college students the share is significantly smaller. This is especially true at Emerson, a secular school with no religious affiliation.
This is not to say that religion is absent from
This is extremely un-post-modern belief to be held by a student body that claims to adhere to the post-modern school of thought. Is it possible to paint an entire population of people with such a broad brush? Haven’t Emersonians agreed that racial stereotypes are sadistic and unfair? Haven’t we debunked such mistruths in our classes and amongst our peers?
An estimated 70 million Americans consider themselves evangelicals—the same amount of people who live in
Emerson is not a school that excels in mathematics, but we should realize that if we cannot make generalizations about blacks and Latinos because the size and diversity of their demographic, we cannot possibly generalize about evangelical Christians—a group nearly two times as large.
It is sad to see that we have relapsed so far into the pitfalls of “knowing” through generalization instead of experience and fact. Stereotypes are borne of kernels of truth—but they can’t be extrapolated to make popcorn that conveniently substitutes for first-hand experience.
The prominence of these views of evangelicals raises some questions: have the people espousing these views ever been to a church service at an evangelical church? Have they ever met, talked to, or befriended an evangelical Christian? Or better yet, have they ever known that the people they live and know—coworkers, professors, friends—are evangelical Christians?
Evangelical does not mean fundamentalist or conservative. Evangelical Christians are very much like other Christians, with a few distinctions. Evangelicalism is expressed more overtly than how Christianity was in the past—it has been updated so modern Christians can adapt their practices in the current culture. In medieval monasteries, monks were harshly punished for laughing. Others were forbidden from making music. In Christian circles today, laughter and music are cherished and embraced.
Accusations that evangelicals are hateful and ignorant are in themselves hateful and ignorant. Applying common labels to any racial, religious or cultural group is misguided and wrong.
It cannot be denied that some evangelical Christians are out of their tree, and the portrayal of evangelical Christians in the media does not help. The most provocative, controversial talking heads get the most airtime, and leave the impression that all evangelicals are red-faced bags of hate and hot air. Christianity is a humble religion, but humble voices are too quiet to be heard, so we’re left with the ranting and raving of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. Really, evangelicals don’t like these guys much more than anyone else: a poll of white evangelicals showed approval ratings for the two were 44% and 54%, respectively.
There are some evangelicals who are bigoted and hateful, but it has nothing to do with being an evangelical Christian. People are hateful. People are bigoted. It is not an exclusive trait dominated by any one group.
Emerson students must look at the facts. Evangelicals are not solely responsible for the presidency of George W. Bush or for gay marriage bans in effect in twenty-six of our states. In fact, an ABC poll taken last June indicates that 58% of Americans believe same-sex marriage should be illegal. While about one in four Americans are evangelical Christians, the other three are not.
Statistically speaking, no matter where one lives, they are sure to know plenty of evangelical Christians. So go out and talk to them—you can’t not. Break your pre-misconceptions, make some friends, and change the way you look at things. You know, by actually looking at them, not by taking rumor or someone else’s word for fact.
“An estimated 70 million evangelicals”: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/02/05/60minutes/main598218.shtml
Robertson/Falwell poll:
http://www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=1610
“More than 40% of Americans regularly attend religious services”: http://www.religioustolerance.org/rel_rate.htm
“58% of Americans believe same-sex marriage should be illegal”:
2 comments:
I read your article in the beacon and really liked it
thanks for your kind words. i was sitting here staring at a blank comments field. it was making me very sad.
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