The Influence of Religion at Santa Clara

By Feliz Moreno

I was walking back to my dorm around nine in the evening when I saw a swarm of students making their way towards the Mission Church.

It occurred to me that it was time for the Sunday night student mass, but I was surprised to see so many people attending. And I wasn't the only one surprised. I overheard a girl next to me wonder aloud, "Are all these people going to church?"

I was impressed. As a student with a Christian background who has never actively practiced any form of religion, I admire those who commit themselves to their values and beliefs unwaveringly, and those who are willing to sacrifice every Sunday evening to worship any form of higher power.

Considering we do attend a Jesuit university, it shouldn't come as a surprise that a good number of students do attend the service on campus, but it does shock me a little because the Jesuit presence on campus is so unimposing. It is subtle enough to make the non-religious feel comfortable, yet still available to those who want to practice and investigate their faith.

With the arrival of every new school year, Santa Clara's annual Mass of the Holy Spirit—which I have never attended—arouses many different sentiments in students. I know some were looking forward to attending the service, while a lot of my friends were just grateful for the opportunity to skip their mid-day class on Wednesday.  

While this may be a cynical way of looking at a religious event, it is nice to know that anyone who comes out and admits they are just looking forward to spending the hour in their dorm room playing Call of Duty will not be discriminated against or looked down upon for not being "religious" enough.

But a student could get that experience at any state funded school. So what makes Santa Clara so special?

Well, call me a sucker for a good sell, but I honestly believe Santa Clara offers what it claims—"an education of the whole person."  Yeah, I'm a sap, and I want to be educated in good "habits of mind" and "habits of heart" as the University claims on its website. I don't want to leave college filled with knowledge and lacking a sense of purpose, and I feel like the Jesuit values here on campus support this personal goal.

That is why I chose to go to a Jesuit school, not because I wanted to be forced into attending church or reading the Bible, but because I wanted to be surrounded by a variety of people—people who find their religious practices critical to their sense of purpose, people who could care less about whether a higher power exists or not, and people like me who fall somewhere in between.

As a firm believer in the separation of church and education, I love going to a Jesuit school.

Feliz Moreno is a sophomore English major and editor of the Opinion section.