Does College Life Destroy One’s Faith Life?
The modern university campus is no place for a believer. Far from the watchful eye of faithful parents, lost among a million to-do’s, surrounded by dormmates and classmates of different faiths or no faith at all, college students are pretty much set-up to become a statistic of those who “have left the church in college.” But it doesn’t have to be this way. Harvard graduate, Rhodes Scholar and now author Aurora Griffin shares forty practical tips on how prospective and current college students can keep their faith in college in her debut book, “How I Stayed Catholic at Harvard.”
Griffin provides advice relating to academics, community, prayer and service that helped her to remain Catholic — and flourish — at Harvard, one of the most prestigious colleges in the world. She encourages students who are about to begin their formative college years, and those already in college, that the most valuable parts of college life — lasting friendships, intellectual growth and cherished memories — are experienced in a more meaningful way when lived in and through a grounded belief in Christ.
“The attitude at most secular universities is that college is about having fun and finding yourself by casting off old ways of thinking, leaving your faith and values behind,” says Griffin. “A worldly lifestyle promises glamour and excitement and fulfillment, but in the end, it is empty. Only as we become the people God made us to be, do we become freer, happier, and more ourselves.”
Griffin reminds us that remaining faithful is a conscious decision, reinforced by commitment to daily practices. She illustrates that when you decide your faith matters to you, no one can take it away, even in the most secular environments and under strong peer pressure. Throughout her book, Griffin shows how being a Catholic in college didn’t prevent her from having a full college experience but actually enabled her to make the most of her time at Harvard.
(Source: Christian Newswire)
