“As a Christian University Pepperdine affirms: that God is; that God is revealed uniquely in Christ …”
The declaration which continues for another seven lines dominates the inside cover of the “Student Planner & Handbook” that is distributed to every student at the Church-of-Christ-affiliated school.
But some of those students deny the existence of God or Christ. Drawn to Pepperdine by academics location or other incentives many nonreligious students said that although they sometimes feel like outsiders they are grateful to attend Pepperdine.
“It’s really just being surrounded and inundated by ideologies you don’t believe in that affect every aspect of someone’s life and ethics said junior Scott Miller, who said he has never believed in God. At times I’ve been frustrated [by the religious atmosphere] but I’ve gotten over it. And I feel I’m a better person for having been exposed to a different set of beliefs than my own.”
Miller is one of 178 Pepperdine students or 2.3 percent who marked “none” when asked of their religious preference upon enrollment according to the 2007 University figures. At Seaver 77 out of 3139 students or 2.5 percent are nonreligious.
Many nonreligious students said they prefer to avoid the stereotypes attached to calling themselves “atheists.”
Miller said he knows only a handful of nonreligious students partly because he makes no effort to seek them out.
“I don’t immediately feel connected to people because of a certain commonality he said. I have friends who are nonreligious but that’s not why I’m their friend. I have friends who are Catholic Church of Christ Jewish.”
Like any religious label “nonreligious” covers a broad spectrum of beliefs from those who believe in a loose conception of God but not Jesus to the highly specific belief system of junior Thor Anderson.
“I tell some people I’m an agnostic neo-tantric satanic pastafarian secular humanist or just that it’s not applicable said Anderson with a hint of a smile.
Although Anderson said he used to be much more adversarial about his atheism, he no longer considers himself a Satanist – a word that does not refer to worshipping the devil, he stressed.
There are different forms of Satanism, but Anderson referred to a movement that he said emphasized the self and self-proclamation of one’s victories.
Satanic is just there for shock value now he said. [The religion] was really very reactionary Malcolm X versus Martin Luther King.”
Anderson said he stopped considering himself an Episcopalian at about age 11 when he realized the only understanding he had of his faith came from what others told him.
In the succeeding years and into his freshman year at Pepperdine he said he challenged others’ religions more aggressively.
“When I first came there were more flare-ups he said. I distinctly remember telling someone he would die unloved and unmourned. He did goad me into it.”
Lately though Anderson has adopted a more matter-of-fact approach.
“I make my piece and leave it at that he said. The more I got in debates and talked about it I realized that as long as everyone thinks they’re right there’s no point. No one thinks they’re going to hell.”
Miller said he too has calmed over the years.
He said an important step was reading Friedrich Nietzsche’s parable “The Madman which gave him a perspective of moderation toward religion.
It really struck a chord with me and I realized what’s best for one isn’t best for all he said.
Miller said a year in Pepperdine’s International Program in London – one of the primary reasons he chose the school – also increased his respect for his religious peers.
When you’re traveling and you see so many cultures that are different yet people are still genuinely good to you it makes you a lot more accepting and tolerant so to speak he said.
Miller and Anderson said they appreciated the evenhanded analysis of their mandatory religion classes, particularly Religion 101, The History and Religion of Israel.”
Dr. Chris Heard a Religion 101 professor said he understands secular students’ apprehension about the course but does his best to make it fair and valuable for everyone.
“It makes sense given Pepperdine’s history and heritage to require religion classes and specifically Bible classes Heard said. [I want to make them] interesting for people who are very familiar with the Bible but don’t want to overwhelm people who have no knowledge of the Bible. Balancing all the different student backgrounds is a challenge.”
The course emphasizes analysis of the background of the Old Testament including potential problems according to Heard.
“We don’t hide anything he said. We look at the Bible warts and all.”
Heard said he hopes his class relieves the fears of first-semester students.
“[Nonreligious] students who have come to Pepperdine often come maybe with some defensiveness or some anxiety he said. I hope by the end of the class they feel welcomed by the community.”
Not all religion classes are popular with nonreligious students however.
“Religion 102 was one big awkward moment for me especially because my professor I thought was very much more preachy said junior Paulina Bolinski.
She said she grew up Catholic, but abandoned the faith in her early teenage years and now considers herself nonreligious.
The religion requirement silenced freshman Angela Sultan.
I’m one to always ask questions and make comments but in my religion class I don’t Sultan said.
Sultan picked Pepperdine because her mother liked the school’s religious background, the security and the absence of a large Muslim population, she said.
Sultan grew up in a secular family, but she said she was attracted by the morality of religion and the chance to understand more than a sketch of Christianity.
She said her mother’s experiences with Muslim extremists greatly influence her own views.
She doesn’t think I’m listening but I am she said. All the horrible things they did they justified by saying God said to do it. … I didn’t really know much about Christianity or Catholics just Muslims – that was my view of God.”
Wafa Sultan Angela’s mother converted from Islam to secular humanism when she saw Muslim terrorists kill her professor. She gained prominence for an Al Jazeera interview in which she said Islam belonged in the Middle Ages.
This greatly influenced the younger Sultan’s view of religion she said.
Sultan doubts she will ever become Christian and considers herself deistic.
“I pray I believe in god she said.
And she said she believes in the sometimes-maligned convocation requirement.
I finished them in February she said. It’s a beautiful thing. I like hearing different perspectives on things and they’re not pushy.”
Anderson said he stopped attending convocation as a freshman and Miller said he goes but calls it a source of constant irritation.
The convocation program is designed to build Christian faith affirm Christian values and address the ethical components of current issues according to the convocation Web site.
“We succeed to the extent that students want to get something out of the program said Convocation Director Christopher Collins. We present a panoply of different topics related to many views but it’s all geared in one direction. It’s part of a holistic approach and this is the spiritual side.”
Michael Shermer a 1976 Seaver alumnus and noted atheist said convocation and religion classes represent an important part of Pepperdine’s brand and should be preserved.
Shermer became an atheist soon after graduating from Pepperdine and now edits Skeptic magazine which among other things seeks to debunk what it calls Christian myths.
Shermer also frequently argues against the logic of Christianity at nationwide debates. He suggested that Pepperdine should feature him at a debate on campus.
“I don’t expect I can convert anyone to religi
ous skepticism through argument he said. I’m going after the undecided middle. We make most of our beliefs about anything religion or politics emotionally and afterward construct arguments to justify it.”
The five agreed there was a misperception that nonreligious people are unethical but that they strive to do what they see as right.
“I’m very much against those who say that because this life is all we have we can do what we want Bolinski said. I think the opposite: that because this is all we have we have a duty to be moral.”