In God we trust... Well, maybe CRU does, but discourse at Duke about religion and the overarching presence of Duke's Christian right is most definitely not "finished."
When my first article--the one wailing on the un-promiscuous, pearled-up blonde, recommending she trade in her pearls for a La Perla--came out in Duke's infamous Chronicle, I was hunted down by Duke's even more infamous Campus Crusade for Christ to be chastised and cast down for my progressive beliefs.
I was told that despite my words from the black book, I could indeed find a meaningful relationship at Duke--regardless of whether or not I wanted one--and that it would be with Christ.
Several weeks later, the Associate Minister of the Church of Good Shepherd in Durham emailed me with the following comments:
"No person can maintain for long (with impunity) the reckless course you seem to be on. No society can long exist when inhabited by those so enslaved to the tyrannical self as you portray yourself to be. God's image bearer cannot long stand the strain of such a tyranny."
Fortunately, my faith in God is overshadowed by the greater faith I have in free speech, an open-mind and maybe even a stiletto or two.
But, my own faith aside, I have few reasons to believe that faith in God, at all, is justified... especially among Duke students. Organized religion at Duke creates tension among those it does not include, and as much as religion creates a unified group of supporters who have "found" Christ, it works in the same way as sororities and fraternities at Duke in that it creates an "us" and "them."
It creates an "other" in an already ultra-stratified campus.
I responded to the audacious minister accordingly:
"As disturbed as you might be as a minister to my call for sexual liberation among teenage women, I am equally disturbed by the emphasis put on societal norms--reinstated by the church--and the freedom men have to express themselves sexually. I suggest that in your preaching you teach women how to be independent thinkers, and how to define themselves before letting Duke, society or even the Church define them."
Unlike most students here at Duke, I have yet to be brainwashed by our school's ever-so-present Christian right (despite the fact that I see their orange shirts everywhere).
But give it time... they're still working on their crusade, and they're such a dominant group on campus that it's hard for even me to believe that my agnosticism will last long.
I was walking past the Chapel last week when a group of Christians on campus were pondering if whatever it was was "finished." At the same time I saw another minister-type ask in an almost-cult-like manor to a group of almost-sedated students if they had "found" Jesus... and if they had allowed the word of Jesus into their lives.
He apparently assumed the hypnotized students sitting in front of him didn't know they needed the word of Jesus Christ to be "saved." Or rather, his aim was to create a public display in front of Duke's most celebrated infrastructure to get those nonbelievers like me thinking "No, I haven't yet found the 'word.' Maybe I should."
Instead, he got me thinking something else.
Why do Christians (or even just the Religiously Confused) at Duke, as youthful college students who should be out drinking, partying and dancing on tables, look towards religion, constantly asking to be saved and forgiven for disobeying a ridiculous credo that our generation had no part in creating. Why, instead of thinking for themselves and perhaps creating their own credo, do they let the words of dead men guide them?
But, more importantly, why are they trying to drag the likes of me and other progressive, free thinkers at Duke down, too?
You see, I already know I'd make a terrible Christian. You'd think that after so many abrasive articles, so would the Campus Crusade.
My words are not of dead men, but perhaps that is why they deserve equal, if not more, merit. Jesus may be your savior in life after death, but in the here and now, his word will only thwart you. Instead of philosophizing and questioning the world around you--instead of being a good human--under the hypnotizing word of God, you focus more on how to become a good and worthy ghost.
And just like a ghost, you become a nobody... and a follower.
If anything, the Jesus that you've "found" and let into your life sits on his throne in Heaven--yes, the one you put him on--laughing at your foolishness.
But, please, do not let my words and my cynicism replace Jesus' in your dogma of do's and don'ts at Duke. Be your own person.
In the meantime, and until it's "finished," I'm sure in God you'll trust... blindly.
Shadee Malaklou is a Trinity freshman. Her column appears every other Wednesday.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.