NEWS
Some students turn to faith in wake of terrorist attacks
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by Greg Jones
Monday, November 5, 2001
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., many students are turning to faith to help them get through these discomforting times.
More students have been going to meetings and services of various religious organizations during the last two months since the attacks shook the country.
“Mass attendance during late September and October definitely increased,” said Kirstin Scott of St. Paul’s National House of God. “We have a lot of new programs and more small-group settings, so we’ve seen more students. That has also contributed to the increase we’ve seen around the church.”
The head of undergraduate campus ministry at St Paul’s also noted increased turnout.
“Yes, indeed attendance has been up,” Grace Simon said.
“The reason is definitely the atrocities.”
However, not all organizations have seen such an obvious increase in student turnout.
“My personal experience is that we’ve been gaining in strength for the last three years,” said a receptionist for Hillel, a Jewish organization. “I don’t know that we’ve gained members because of what happened on Sept. 11, but we are still very strong, and it certainly hasn’t hurt.”
Madison Campus Ministry also failed to see a palpable increase in attendance.
“We just moved to a new location and are still trying to get word out that we’re here,” the Ministry receptionist said. “The increase in membership is difficult to associate with any one thing in particular.”
Student views about religion are also mixed in the wake of the terrorist attacks.
“People are a lot more willing to talk about God and faith and spirituality,” Scott said. “Spirituality has become more real to people now.”
Some students expressed a renewed interest in their faith and said they had begun attending services again. They have found a new need for spirituality in their lives.
“I haven’t gone to church since high school,” UW-Madison senior Victor Brown said. “But ever since the terrorist attacks and the anthrax scares and all that, I’ve felt a need to start going again.”
While some students’ faith was restored by the attacks, others had more phlegmatic opinions concerning their faith.
“I haven’t gone to church since my parents stopped forcing me to,” said UW sophomore Chris Karnow. “I’m not going to start now.”
The attacks also failed to stir up religious sentiments in some agnostic and atheistic students.
“I never believed in God,” UW sophomore Mike Wiedel said. “The attacks haven’t changed that at all.”
