News-Letter

Media Credit: Laura Bitner [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Shiv Gandhi [Click to enlarge]

Sunday churchgoers, be they Catholic or Protestant, are a familiar sight, as are the kids who attend Shabbat dinner every Friday night at the Smokler Center for Jewish Life. But there are many student religious groups that have yet to achieve a similar level of recognition.

A total of 24 student groups are recognized by the Interfaith Council. While Hillel and the Catholic Community may be names that are easily recognized by the average Hopkins student, there are many other groups spanning across numerous religions that are worthy of note. It's important to be aware of the existence of these other groups and religions, not only so that those practicing them can find a secure spot on campus to do so, but also to realize how many fascinating, different religions are practiced on campus.

One immensely interesting campus religious group are the Bahá'ís. The main message of the Bahá'í faith is unity. Although this religion arose in Iran - where their messenger of God, Bahá'u'lláh, was born to Persian royalty - people of any race, class or nation can take part in it. This prophet has many writings and his teachings are the basis of the religion. These writings promote the unity of all people as they come to the understanding of the purpose of humanity through the word of God, which is spread through his Divine Messengers.

The writings also have a heavy emphasis on moral education, community and social and economic development. Bahá'ís believe that God's nature is beyond the human scope of understanding, and they recognize similarities between all religions, categorizing each individual religion as different stages or representations of the same one true religion. "Baha'is believe in progressive revelation, which is essentially the concept that all religions originate from the same God, and they are all stages in the evolution of human spiritual understanding," said freshman Raamin Mostaghimi, a member of Hopkins' Baha'i student group. "Hence, although the social teachings may change with the day and age, the underlying spiritual tenets remain untouched."

While they may vary in their social teachings and specific laws, the overarching religious message remains the same. Bahá'u'lláh encourages followers of the Bahá'í faith to spread the message of Bahá'í, but stresses the need to not force it upon anyone. The Bahá'ís strive towards an advanced civilization which they believe we all have the power to bring about. As stated by Bahá'u'lláh in Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, "So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth."

This pleasant, peaceful message comes with a caveat, however. You'll have to give up the use of alcohol and narcotics in order to truly follow the teachings.

Another religion centered on unity is Sikhism. Even though the Sikhs represent only a minority on our campus, Sikhism is actually practiced by over 20 million people worldwide, making it more widely practiced than Judaism. You can easily recognize Sikhs: they consist of almost every person you see wearing a turban outside. This is a compulsory part of their faith, which signifies humility, discipline and spirituality.

Despite popular belief, Sikhs are not connected with Hinduism or Islam. In fact, Sikhism was founded in India by the Guru Nanak Dev Ji as an attempt to reconcile the differences between the two religions. In a country conflicted by too many opposing factions, as well as an inherent caste system, Sikhism strove and continues to strive worldwide to unite all people under the one God and creator. One possibly surprising fact about Sikhism is that, as a relatively young faith - it is only 500 years old - it teaches equality for all people. The religion supports women's rights, the abolishment of hierarchies and caste systems and the allowance of many personal paths to God.

In the past few years, Sikhs have been grossly misidentified as terrorists, simply because their appearance and dress is similar to that of Osama Bin Laden. However, it is important to stress that this is a religious group on its own, not a sect of any other, and with no ties to terrorism: in fact, it is a group based off of peace and equality.

There are several other religions represented on campus by student groups which aren't as well known. There are other Jewish groups aside from Hillel. Chabad, a sect of Hasidism, boasts 200,000 devotees worldwide. Chabad is unique from other forms of Hasidism in that it stresses the importance of not only the heart, but the mind above all. Chabadniks follow the rules of the Torah closely.

"What makes our group unique is the place that we are … we purchase a property on Guilford which is a nice historic property that we use," said Rabbi Zev Gopin, who with his wife Hanna and their three children, resides in the Chabad house.

"Our group seeks and provides a home away from home for students when they're on campus. My wife and myself live here with our family, we invited students to come over to our house. We want it to be a family setting rather than just an institution where there are events, but a home environment. In a sense we operate as a living role model of a Jewish family, where they can not just learn, but have a first hand living experience of Shabbat with a real family."

Also on campus is the Buddhist Students Association. Buddhism is often associated with atheism because the religion does not believe in a God. However, it is still a very spiritual religion, believing in karma, rebirth, morals and meditation. Many call Buddhism the one true peaceful society, as it has never been involved in any violence.

"I believe that these groups, though perhaps small in number, make us all richer for their presence at Johns Hopkins," said University Chaplain Sharon Kugler.

"Often, I have found that their members are among the most committed to dialogue and mutual learning with others. It is hard to imagine a truly diverse environment without the participation of these groups."

A poll last year showed that about 29 percent of the campus identified themselves as Roman Catholic, 13 percent Jewish, less than 0.1 percent Bahá'í, 0.5 percent Sikh and 1.6 percent Buddhist. However, there are many other religions listed as being practiced on campus, many of them without a representative student group - a perfect chance for more students to get more involved in the Hopkins community.

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