The university should create an environment on campus, in the classroom and in Chapel where students who don’t believe in God or belong to a different faith can feel safe sharing their diverse beliefs and asking questions about Christianity.
Omar Palafox, an Old Testament professor, has taught students from almost every religious background. While non-Christian students may feel welcome, Palafox said, they are not often outspoken. They don’t engage in classroom discussions or feel comfortable sharing their beliefs or culture, and they often hide under the title of non-denominational to avoid being vulnerable with their faith.
Palafox encourages his students to own their faith. He said they should be able to explain and define what they believe with confidence, even in a crowd where their beliefs are uncommon. He does an activity in class where each student is given three minutes to tell the class about their history with God.
Students don’t respond well to being told what to believe, but they are more likely to listen when they are being listened to. By creating a safe environment for his students, Palafox can also share his beliefs with his class.
“I don’t prescribe, ‘You need to believe this.’ I just tell them this is the journey I’m on, this is where I’m at right now, tell me where you’re at in your story,” Palafox said. “I tell them they’re welcome to come to my office or go visit with me in church. I can tell you why I believe what I believe and why I practice. But it’s outside of class.”
As an adjunct professor in grad school, campus minister Nathan Kranz had an international student in class who had no faith at all. The class did an assignment reflecting on a book called Jesus Through the Centuries by Jaroslav Pelikan.
“Her answers were the most insightful because she is viewing Jesus from a totally different lens,” Kranz said. “She is creating her image of Jesus through reading this book and through reading the Gospels. Because she didn’t bring anything with it, she got to be like, ‘hey, I’m meeting Christians, but I’m also meeting Jesus for the first time.’”
When meeting with students individually, Kranz lets students lead the conversation. He doesn’t use his space for evangelism, but for what he calls “social care.” He wants to hear students’ big questions and offers advice if they ask for it.
“I don’t need to push you in one direction or the other,” Kranz said. “I believe that God can transform us simply through having a positive interaction with someone who they know is a professing Christian who cares about their faith deeply. I’m not in this room to force my beliefs on you.”
Creating community should be prioritized over converting students to Christianity. Interfaith dialogue is a way to create community and show respect to students of different faiths.
Bradley Terry, a senior physical therapy major from Sweetwater, Texas, came from a small Church of Christ. Terry said having class with students and professors who have different backgrounds than what he is used to has broadened him and made him explore more.
Last semester, Terry attended All Walks of Life chapel, where Christian students have discussions with students of other faiths to compare experiences, perceptions of each other and beliefs. Discussions like these reveal that different religions are not as polarizing from each other as culture makes them seem.
“There was so much that I didn’t know about the connection between Hinduism and Christianity, and how close they are to each other,” Terry said. “There are three gods that align with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. That mimics how we have it.”
Palafox said that Christianity, Islam and Judaism all connect back to Abraham. These religions all refer to the Old Testament and respect holy scriptures. Scripture is a sacred part of Hinduism. Muslim shamans teach the Quran in a similar way that a priest or a pastor would teach the Bible.
Palafox is a member of the Interfaith Council of Abilene. People often ask him why he cares about interacting with people who have different beliefs and wonder why he doesn’t just focus on Jesus.
“My answer to that was, I believe Jesus is the only way and the only answer. He is the truth,” Palafox said. “And since I have that much trust and confidence, you can compare and throw anything to my practice and my beliefs, and I’ll survive.”
ACU is going to continue to gain national recognition, so it is important that we create spaces for new students of diverse backgrounds and cultures to tell their story, so we can tell them Jesus’ story too.
