<p>My daughter was admitted to Furman for fall 09 and we have a question about the religious atmosphere at the university. We are Catholic, and although we understand that the university severed ties with the Baptist church in 1992, we've heard that the student body is still heavily Baptist and wonder if my daughter will feel "out of place" there. There is a Catholic student group and I believe Mass is offered on campus on Sunday evenings--has anyone participated in this group? Is it very active? Will she be pressured to participate in religious activities? We are from the west coast, too (although very conservative politically), so D is a little apprehensive about being "different" on two accounts. She LOVED the school when we visited, but it was summer and she didn't meet many students or get a good feel for what the social atmosphere is like. We'd love to hear any input that could put our concerns to rest! Furman is currently her top choice for the fall.</p>
<p>Momdoc, Have no fear. Furman tends to draw a more conservative, religious student body, but is not in any way a religious school. Your D will fit in great there. In my opinion, the single greatest feature of Furman University is it’s ability to nuture the student. The students call this the “Furman Bubble.” Everyone knows each other, watches each other and otherwise helps keep everyone involved. Same goes with the faculty and staff. It is difficult for a student to fall through the cracks at Furman.</p>
<p>My two Ds went to Furman both Catholics. Absolutely no problem. Furman is a great school. In six years of visiting we have never noticed any kind of “Baptist” influence aside from the fact that its a very good school if the Baptists had anything to do with that??</p>
<p>George2007–I’m glad to hear it. D likes the school so much!</p>
<p>SCMom62–Thanks so much for the links. I’m glad they do hold Mass on campus, though, since D won’t have a car to get to a church in town. I have heard that the surrounding parishes are wonderful.</p>
<p>A current Furman student called this evening to speak with D. D was able to ask about all her concerns and was quite satisfied with the responses, which echoed what you all have said. Sounds like religion won’t be a problem, and being from CA will actually seem quite glamorous! </p>
<p>Thanks again for everyone’s help. I’m sure I’ll be back with more questions before we’re through.</p>
<p>My D is a freshman at Furman and we are also from CA. She is not very religious, but is conservative. She has felt no religious pressure whatsoever. She is very happy, has made a lot of friends and is involved in many activities. You are right about being from CA being a novelty.</p>
<p>ernchurl–It’s great to hear that another Californian is happy at Furman. How did you learn about the school? Whenever we mention it, people give us blank stares–it seems to have a very regional reputation. Is your D planning on returning to CA after college? Are you worried that employers’ lack of familiarity with the school might hurt her prospects?</p>
<p>My daughter is a freshman this year also, but from SC. She was quite shocked to see much of the student population getting up on Sunday mornings and going to various churches in the Greenville community. In fact, since she’s involved with the chapel service on Sunday afternoons, she doesn’t go to another church on Sunday mornings and therefore feels out of place walking around in her regular clothes (OK, PJs probably)! From what we see at Furman, if your daughter would rather attend mass in town, she could probably get a ride with someone - the students are VERY friendly! Of course, there are those that don’t go to church, but there’s no pressure. My daughter’s roommate doesn’t attend church, but she still feels comfortable enough to be coming to our house for Easter, along with another girl who is quite religious. It’s been a wonderful year for our daughter…</p>
<p>momdoc- We read about Furman in a book called “Choosing the Right College”. It was described as “the friendliest school in this book.” That sparked my D’s interest and she then explored the website and further researched the school. We also first visited Furman in the summer when there were no students on campus, so D went back on accepted students weekend. She met up with another girl from our area who was a junior there. That student showed her around, took her to lunch and gave her the inside scoop on dorms, activities, etc. That set my D’s mind at ease and sold her on Furman, as she had the same concerns that you are voicing now. It is too soon to tell, but at this point D has warned us that she may stay in SC after graduation. She is comfortable with the more traditional and conservative atmosphere she feels in the south, but who know what will happen in 3 more years. I am not concerned with employers not being familiar with Furman. That could change in the future, and Furman is a nurturing environment that I think builds strong,confident young adults. Hopefully these future employees can sell themselves regardless of what their employers think of the school.</p>
<p>SouCar Mom–I think it’s wonderful how so many of the students go to church on Sunday, no matter what church they go to! Very different from most college campuses, I’m sure.</p>
<p>Ernchurl–We hope to get to one of the accepted student days during spring break. My sister and her husband moved to Greenville a couple of years ago and love it; my parents just joined them there last year. Maybe my daughter would wind up staying, too! </p>
<p>If your daughter would at all be interested in meeting up with mine when we visit and sharing her CA to SC experience, please private message me.</p>
<p>We are from MA, and are also Catholic. My son considers Furman to be his #1 choice. He will be attending one of the Accepted Students Days in April. Thanks to all who offered words of encouragement on diversity.</p>
<p>When Furman and the Southern Baptist Convention severed their ties, any hint of any influence was not there in '94 when kiddo #1 started nor was it there when we paid the last tuition bill for kiddo#2 in 2003.</p>
<p>I’m the mom of a kid who’s considering Furman. My child is religious - from a previous set of posts, it appears that my kid won’t feel “weird” or out of place for believing the words of the Nicene Creed are true, not just something to chant on Sunday. My question is, how active are the religious organizations on campus? Some colleges we’ve visited tout their organizations, but when one investigates, one finds the organization exists only on the college webpage, or in the wishful thinking of a faculty member or local church’s youth minister.</p>
<p>gee…I don’t think any of the religious organizations at Furman are “for show.” The chapel makes much effort to serve many denominations.<br>
Furman students tend to self select in my opinion just like you will find some people gravitating to certain communities. Furman students tend to arrive with a set of morals which will of course be tested in adulthood and in the classroom. As a 78 grad who used to find religious ideas in a segment of the student body sometimes annoying (don’t make me give examples because I love Furman and don’t want to emphasize old issues long over since Furman severed ties with the Baptist Convention a long time ago)…I feel I misjudged my classmates who arrived with church membership histories and values just because I had a much more transient life and more of an interdenominational life in military chapels as a child and teen.
My classmates grew up to be extraordinarily thoughtful purposeful people who care a lot about living well but who are very varied in how they express their morals and values. My teachers were very loving, caring, deeply purposeful men and women and I am grateful to all of them as the years pass.<br>
Furman prepares people who choose seminary grad school pathways and the very fine music department has a church music special area where students prepare for that pathway as well. One of my best friends went on to Yale Div and a career as a minister…another is an Episcopalian Bishop now.<br>
one of Furman’s greatest Chem professors used to open my class with the reading of a poem…I won’t ever forget hearing Auden for the first time from him. His father was a preacher.<br>
The Furman professors by the way, were way more tolerant of and interested in students who were right of center in religious ideas than I was in my misguided “sophistication” at age 19. I learned a lot from my Furman profs…classrooms are quite personal and rigorous.</p>
<p>In my opinion, the Baptist tradition that is still a part of the Furman culture is excellent story telling from the Teacher’s pulpit…in a way that is a reflection of the Baptist tradition of an entertaining vein in a sermon a week…as their tradition doesn’t involve weekly rituals like in the Common Book of Prayer. Lots of things are enriched by American’s colleges with religious foundation roots --just as knowing the Bible well will help you understand Moby Dick and Shakespeare even if you don’t pursue religious studies.</p>
<p>My daughter is a high school junior, considering Furman. She is a liberal Democrat atheist from New England. Do you think she would feel out of place at Furman?</p>
<p>The two students I know well who are preparing to exit to graduate school now have never had anyone approach them about religion in any way. </p>
<p>The Democrats are well organized on campus and liberals and conservatives are regular guest speakers. Hillary Clinton and George Bush were both there in recent seasons. We saw Jimmy Carter speak there in our generation. The Political Science department is very strong with a strong program in DC for internships and a strong track record in terms of graduate school placement. Although we are on the liberal side of things, going to a college where both conservatives and liberals are well organized can be a really good thing for classroom debate and for getting ready for the real world of conflicting ideas. The Richard Riley Center brings in a lot of leaders annually. Riley served as Secretary of Education under Clinton and as Governor of South Carolina and is a really good guy. If your daughter decides she wants a college where access to faculty is excellent and classrooms are intimate and challenging, come visit Furman and see if it feels right. I will say that the atmosphere is extremely supportive and the expectations in the classrooms are high. Graduate school placements are very good for those who work hard.</p>
<p>This is a great question that I’m always happy to answer. </p>
<p>Furman’s religious organizations are incredibly strong, and are unusually numerous for a campus of our size. The Religious Council is the governing body for groups at Furman, and does a wonderful job of ensuring that the religious groups are well run, but not pushy when it comes to the student body. There are a number of rules in place that ensure that open proselytizing does not occur. At the same time, each organization is very open and transparent. As for liberal Democrat athiests, these rules ensure that she won’t ever feel pressured by any group to go to services or believe a certain set of theology. There is actually an athiest group on campus, the Society for Free Inquiry, that is very active in holding meetings and events. The College Democrats are, as well, and there are a number of liberal student-run groups. On the whole, the student body trends conservative, but there are a great number of liberals, and an increasing number of New Englanders. If your D is vehemently opposed to religion and hates Christians, she probably won’t enjoy the school, but if she is tolerant and willing to be asked on occasion about her beliefs, she’ll be fine. Two of my best friends last year were outspoken athiests. One was from Connecticut. </p>
<p>Groups run the gamut from the Baptist Collegiate Ministry to the Muslim Student Association. </p>
<p>Students at Furman have a wide variety of options in places of worship. I attend an evangelical church in downtown Greenville. Last year, a number of people on my hall went to a non-denominational evangelical church that was focused mainly on college students, and a bunch went to a PCA church, as well. The on-campus Catholic services are, apparently, pretty good.</p>
<p>Overall, the religious community at Furman is very active, very well run, and is a great opportunity for those who are interested. For secular folks, it’s easy to find a niche outside of religion, and for those who are tolerant, it can serve as a great learning opportunity about those who do believe, and why they do so.</p>
<p>Both our son and daughter are juniors at Furman. Each had experiences early in their freshman year of students from more “conservative” Christian organizations inviting them to meetings and encouraging them to attend worship services with their particular group. We are Episcopalian-our kids were polite-thanks but not thanks and that seemed to send a hopefully, polite message. I agree with many other posters that the school is becoming increasingly diverse. The new president, Rod Smolla, a noted First Amendment litigator and scholar, recently sent a letter to parents, faculty and students supporting freedom of expression by students tempered with respect. Our son, who is abroad in the UK this semester was very impressed with the tone he feels Dr. Smolla is promoting throughout the campus. FWIW< son worked as TA for a religion professor who is a Southern Baptist minister by education and has found him to be one of the most flexible, open professors on campus.</p>