“I had a Mormon student burst into tears in my own office, saying she felt so alienated, put down, mocked, criticized,” Zuckerman says. “So there’s no question that in really secular enclaves like Pitzer College or Berkeley, if you’re a student of faith, you’re going to be made to feel defensive. You’re going to be made to feel less intelligent, and that’s definitely a problem.”
Actually, you are going to have an easier time of it at a large secular university like U.C. Berkeley. Theoretically, at least, public universities must be neutral, and you will also find that there are a ton of Christians who are students at places like Berkeley, and there are a lot of vibrant Christian organizations in the community. The other advantage is that in such an environment, you will become more focused and knowledgeable in your faith.
The really dangerous places are private colleges. There, there is no First Amendment to protect you from anti-Christian attitudes and requirements, and many campuses, especially those of the “elite” colleges, are now quite Stalinist in requiring conformity to things that are anti-Christian. Many of them have ironically also expelled Christian organizations such as InterVarsity from campus for being “intolerant.”
Vanderbilt demands that Christian organizations accept atheists in leadership positions. I bet they do not have the guts to force Jews into leadership positions in Moslem organizations or vice versa.
Actually, you are going to have an easier time of it at a large secular university like U.C. Berkeley. Theoretically, at least, public universities must be neutral, and you will also find that there are a ton of Christians who are students at places like Berkeley, and there are a lot of vibrant Christian organizations in the community. The other advantage is that in such an environment, you will become more focused and knowledgeable in your faith.
The really dangerous places are private colleges. There, there is no First Amendment to protect you from anti-Christian attitudes and requirements, and many campuses, especially those of the “elite” colleges, are now quite Stalinist in requiring conformity to things that are anti-Christian. Many of them have ironically also expelled Christian organizations such as InterVarsity from campus for being “intolerant.”
Vanderbilt demands that Christian organizations accept atheists in leadership positions. I bet they do not have the guts to force Jews into leadership positions in Moslem organizations or vice versa.