Campuses see surge of interest in religion courses
by Mark I. Pinksy
The Orlando Sentinel
(KRT)
In the days following the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks, Anne Chernick still vividly recalls, fel
low students on the Rollins College campus
in Winter Park, Fla., would approach her with
questions, big questions.
"How could such evil occur in the world if
there is a Godr they asked. "What is God's
role in evil?"
As a religion major, the Fort Worth native
was the natural person for classmates to come
to with their concerns.
"I've seen how quickly people tend to turn
to religion in times of distress," she says. "I've
taken the opportunity, through my education,
to understand the notion of God, faith and evil
from different angles of various religions, in
hopes of gaining a deeper understanding of
humanity."
But while Chernick had taken courses in
Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and even
mysticism, she had no courses in theology or
Islam. She was at a loss to answer many of
the questions growing out of the attacks.
"I pointed out how little I know," says
Chernick, 22. "That's why I'm studying it."
That's probably why a lot of other college stu
dents are studying religion these days as well,
especially Islam.
College and university officials report a
surge in course offerings and enrollment in
existing classes in the two semesters since 9-
11. This growth shows no sign of diminish
ing.
Amber Carlson, another Rollins student,
agrees that the attacks have had a lasting im
pact on her campus.
"There is definitely more dialogue about re
ligion since 9-11 between students and fac
ulty," says the 20-year-old junior from Or
lando. "You can't really get away from it."
Arizona State University now claims "the
largest enrollment in courses in religion in any
department of religious studies in the United
States," says the department chairman, Joel
Gereboff. "This term, 4,500 studerr are in
6 6 i#
classes."
Among the new courses is "Theology of Ter
ror: Bin Laden and the Taliban." That course,
which is cross-listed with political science and
anthropology, drew around 130 students, com
pared to less than 100 for most religion classes.
In the fall term it was offered again and drew
140, Gereboff says.
Courtney Kunsman of Pittsburgh was al
ready taking a course on Islam at Rollins when
the 9-11 attacks came. Yet it wasn't until weeks
later, after she sat down with her academic
adviser for a "deep talk" about the Sept. 11
events that she decided to become a religion
major.
"It's just important to me that I understand
people," says the 22-year-old senior.
Other students are seeking a deeper under
standing, and appreciation, of their own faiths.
In the wake of the attacks, Rollins senior
Marcie Weinstein says she was stunned by the
connection Osama bin Laden made between
U.S. support for Israel and his hatred for
America. Almost as a self-defense mechanism,
she said, she looked for ways to deepen her
Jewish identity.
One reaction was to sign up for professor
Yudit Greenberg's course, "Jewish Life and
Thought."
"I wanted to take more courses because it
seemed like it was a place to turn to, where I
could learn about Jewish culture and meet
other Jewish kids," says the 22-year-old se
nior, from Swampscott, Mass. "I can't let my
self believe in a religion I know nothing
about."
Many students are selecting courses deal
ing with different religions, and the way reli
gious differences can lead to global conflict.
"Most of it is coming from 9-11," says Philip
Goff, director of the Center for the Study of
Religion and American Culture at Indiana Uni
versity-Purdue University in Indianapolis.
Registration in religion courses at his univer
sity is up 20 percent from a year ago, and it
shows no sign of dropping.
"It's a long time since I've seen students so
engaged in a topic," Goff says. "They are in
terested in geo-politics and the issue of Mus
lims in the United States."
Professors at other universities agree.
"After 9-11, my students are more interested
in the meaning of fundamentalism and, of
course, I encourage their investigation," says
Amanda Porterfield of the University of Wyo
ming. The president of the American Society
of Church History and co-author of "Religion
on Campus" has noticed something else.
"I perceive a softening of what, prior to 9-
11, I might have called Christian fundamen
talism, and increased emphasis on tolerance
among conservative Christians," she says. "The
change is subtle but profound" among her stu
dents.
At Stetson University in DeLand, Fla., more
religion courses have been added for students
• •1
' •
4
•
who may be gravitating to the subject as a re
sult of 9-11.
This fall, the religious studies department is
offering a seminar on "Religion and Violence,"
taught by Donald Musser, professor of reli-
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But some professors and administrators cau
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Professor Christian Smith, of the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has seen an
increase in enrollment, although he is not sure
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"I know I have 50 students in my "Religion
and Society" class this semester, when I only
had 35 last time, before 9-11," he says. "But
who knows what that can be attributed to?"
A controversy erupted over the summer when
incoming freshmen at UNC were reouired to
read a critical study of Islam's holy book, the
Quran. A conservative organization, the Vir-,
ginia-based Family Policy Network sued the:
university in federal court to block the assign- .
ment, but lost.
The University of South Florida now has the'
highest number of undergraduate religion ma
jors in its history, according to Dell deChant,
director of undergraduate studies for the de
partment.
But deChant says the interest is not a result
of the terrorist attacks.
He suspects it's driven by the broader cul
ture, in which "people are interested in look
ing at religion from an academic standpoint, as
opposed to a faith-based perspective."
Darryl Hart, professor of church history and
academic dean at Westminster Theological
Seminary in Escondido, Calif., is equally skep
tical. He says he has not seen evidence of the
trend, at least west of the Mississippi.
"My sense is that there is more interest in
civic ideals and patriotism and tolerance than
religion," he says. "I haven't seen a religious
spin on it. I haven't seen it playing out on the
campus."
Yet it is clearly playing out in the area of aca
demic interest in Islam, and how elements of
that faith may be linked to terrorism, accord
ing to professors and administrators who are
convinced that 9-11 has had great impact on
campuses.
"I definitely want to take an Islamic course.
to have the knowledge of all cultures," says
Carlson of Rollins.
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