<p>I'm really interested in several schools, and I'm wondering how open the Vassar campus community is to people with strong religious beliefs. Is it open and welcoming? Skeptical? Hostile? How would you characterize life at Vassar for a religious person?</p>
<p>Did you have any particular religion in mind?</p>
<p>Depending on the religion it can be not so great, unfortunately. Practicing Jews are fine and non-practicing ones like myself are fine, too, but anything that whiffs too much of Christianity can get some funny looks. My old roommate tore a friend of mine down for being Christian. Sure, my roommate wasn’t a very nice person in general, but I have noticed that religion, and particularly Christianity, can seem an acceptable target. I’ve heard rude things about Islam, too, mostly from a feminist but still not as much as Christianity</p>
<p>I have heard religious people and Christians in specific told that their beliefs are figments of their imagination, only unenlightened people are religious, science and religion cannot go together, that there is so much proof against religion that only stupid people would be religious. BUT, I have friends who have strong religious beliefs and they still go here even if some people are rude. But that’s going to happen at most highly selective, liberal schools.</p>
<p>We have religious groups on campus. The Jewish Union is the biggest and the most active, by far, since Judaism is one of, if not the, biggest religion on campus. I think we have a Catholic Group, but it includes a total of three people as of the beginning of the year. There’s a Buddhist Sangha and a Unitarian Universalist thing, but I don’t know much about them.</p>
<p>I’ve got a couple friends who routinely go to church and temple and who are very devout. There are just far fewer of them than, say, secular Jews and atheists. But you can be religious and go to Vassar. It just might be a little different than what you’re used to.</p>
<p>Keep it a private matter and you’ll be fine.
I have a few strongly religious friends.
If you’re going to feel the need to inform everyone to embrace Jesus Christ, then yeah, you’ll probably get torn apart.</p>