Intellectual Persecution

My University is a public school, small by most people’s standards. The city is medium sized, with more parties than crime (but when it happens, it’s quite severe). The welcoming atmosphere of the city is toted in glossy brochures to try and lure out-of-staters and prospective students.

On campus, there’s a wide variety of students. Tons of nationalities are seen when classes change, a perusal through the campus clubs directory has practically a club for everyone. Academically, we’re quite stellar, if I may say so. NASA is constantly funding projects, professors are being published in all sorts of journals, and our Physics department is quite impressive.

However, there’s an interesting undercurrent that is running through campus. The student newspaper regularly hosts cartoons that bash Christianity. A Christian club had good intentions to answer non-Christian students’ questions, which horrifically failed. Priests being stereotyped as homosexual pedophiles pops up in classrooms. “Friends” of mine often say that they hope that religious people get STD’s.

In the classroom, it’s a different story. Graduate level classes have on occasion, turned into Catholic Church bashing festivals until a student complains. People scoff at Bishop Ussher’s calculation of the age of the earth. I’ve walked into a Geology class to find a cartoon of Galileo being taken off to the”papal prison”. Whenever religion comes up in classes, Christianity is usually portrayed as a religion that doesn’t take brains, that educated people would NEVER be a part of, blue collar workers, all that is wrong in the world and the main reason why culture has disintegrated.

Being Christian, especially Catholic; at a secular university opens up a different venue of persecution: intellectually. I’ll admit – it’s subtle. It’s not staring you in the face like the cartoons or as tacky as the comments that are flung around. Instead, it’s more seductive than that. It plays on a lot of young people’s fears: being different, not a part of the crowd. Christians are often portrayed as mindless dupes. Misinformation about Christianity is often put out, but again; subtly. It starts to get kids thinking “If everyone thinks Christians are stupid, I don’t want people to think I’m stupid.” Or the sheer assaults on the faith may drive people over the edge and just stop believing.

The faith is reinforced by the martyrs of now and of the past. Boiling in oil, crucified, skin being pulled off, fed to the lions – their willingness to die rather than deny Christ gives us the extra ‘heave ho’ to keep fighting to good fight. Intellectual persecution is not as glorious as martyrdom; but still exists for college students at secular universities. Peer pressure, misinformation, ridicule, being singled out by professors – would you be willing to profess Christ in the face of all that? Or would you just stop believing in order that you may be loved by man?

I like to buck the trend and confuse my fellow students in both my major and minor departments. How can a Catholic, who actually practices and wears a crucifix visibly; believe in deep geologic time, evolution, and Neanderthals? How can a scientist demand evidence for everything believe in the power of prayer? And miracles? And eternal life after death?

Sitting in class and being known as the ‘token Catholic’ can be intimidating. Correcting a professor, even more so. But standing up for Christ in the classroom and not budging gives witness to those around you. Your message gets across, and that’s something that no one can take away.