Shona McGarry | Societies Editor
With the world becoming an increasingly secular place, what is it like being a religious student in college? Ruari Kell from the Christian Union and Noor Shaidan of the Muslim Students Association speak about their respective experiences, and Darren McCallig, Church of Ireland chaplain, talks about the role religion still plays in college today.
The Trinity College chapel in Front Square. Photo: TCD Communications Office
As representatives of the Christian Union and the Muslim Students Association, both Ruairi and Noor are open about their faiths. How do other students react to this openness?
“The students here don’t seem to mind us practising our religion,” Noor says. “In fact, some seem interested to know about our religion, for example hijab issues, dietary habits, etc.” The college itself provides the students with “a prayer room in Goldsmith for us to pray.” There seems to be a lot of respect among the student population of Trinity for different cultures such as Islam. But how about that which is closer to home? McCallig insists that he has “never felt” that there are any difficulties for students who are ‘openly’ Christian in Trinity. Those who come to speak about “spiritual” matters do not feel hindered in any way by society’s view of their faith. Ruairi agrees. “It is no different being an openly religious student in wTrinity. College is a perfect place for everyone to express their own opinions and beliefs and to be completely accepted” for them.
Like any other society, the CU seek to promote themselves to the wider community, while one of the roles of the chaplains is to focus on “being a presence on campus.” “We’re a tiny minority here,” says Darren. “And when you’re a tiny minority, part of the job, it seems to me, is waving your hands in the air and saying ‘we’re here!’” What do they do to promote themselves? “Postering, and I always do a couple of debates” in the Phil and Hist. “Being involved in ‘the big college occasions” is also a way for them to make themselves heard in Trinity’s “marketplace of ideas.” The Christian Union are doing much the same thing – just last week they launched a Facebook page, on which they state their main aim as wanting ‘everyone involved in helping uncover what Christianity is really about.’ Meanwhile, the MSA hold “talks, debates, and bake sales,” and in February are planning an “exhibition about the Quran.”
Although both the CU and the chaplaincy are publicising their presence on campus, is there much tangible interest in it? Are students still interested in what the churches have to say, or is Christianity becoming more and more of a ghost town? McCallig still believes that their main events, such as the Christmas Carol Service, have the ability to “bring people together” across campus. “There are so few things that bring people together, even across the arts and science end,” he says. “The carol service… is a real college occasion where everybody can come together.” Ruairi says that one of their aims is to give people the “opportunity to be part of a community;” something they feel that people still look for.
When I ask McCallig if religion has a large role to play in Trinity, I get a slight side-step. “I think religion is changing,” he says. He says that they endeavour to “make space for other faiths,” which is one way of saying that it is adapting to suit a more modern world. “Old-fashioned institutional religion is dying, but maybe that’s no bad thing,” he says. “A new, more open spirituality is emerging in Ireland and we try to be part of what that emerging spirituality might be.” When I ask if there is a growing interest in the Church, he replies, “there’s interest, yeah.” I think that’s as far as I’m going to get. As far as the MSA are concerned, Noor tells me that they host services that cater specifically to Muslim students, services which include classes on “how to read and interpret the Quran.” They also give information about Islamic events that happen in Ireland, and help their members with accommodation issues. They are mainly concerned with helping their own members interact than promoting themselves, although they are interested in contributing to the ‘cultural enrichment’ of the Trinity community, and feel that they have something to offer the campus. When speaking about the upcoming Quran exhibition, Noor says that they’ll “give away” copies of the Quran “if people are interested.” The CU make sure that every week is packed with activities. “We have our weekly main meeting, breakfasts, bible studies, [and] international cafe,” says Ruairi. “We bring the availability of a place for Christians to interact with other Christians.” And that’s what all three are trying to do: provide a space for practicing (and, indeed, non-practicing) members of their faith, and to maintain a presence on campus. It seems that being a religious student in Trinity is just like being a non-religious one: there are, for the most part, no obstacles to practicing one’s religion, or in expressing religious beliefs, no matter what they are.
