Amy Vinson takes a private moment to pray at the Westminster Christian Fellowship campus ministry. Religiously affiliated groups composed a large percentage of student-run organizations on campus.
In an age where religion and technology often come into conflict and the worlds of faith and science seem incompatible, it is surprising to find religiously-affiliated student organizations thriving at Tech.
Currently, there are no fewer than 36 religious organizations on campus. The majority of these organizations are Christian. Twenty-eight groups claim some affiliation to either a particular Christian denomination, such as the Baptist Student Union, or to broader nondenominational concepts, such as New Generation Campus Ministries. This organization, according to its mission statement, espouses a belief in "Christ-centered values and Bibliocentric principles." The remaining organizations include larger non-Christian groups whose numbers are not diluted by various denominations, including the Jewish Student Union, Muslim Student Association and Hindu Students Council.
Although campus religious groups are primarily comprised of the major faiths of the world they are certainly not limited to them. The smaller, less widely known Eastern faiths of Baha'i and Bhakti-Yoga both have active organizations on campus exposing students to their beliefs and practices.
Baha'i, a faith begun by the Persian Bahá'u'lláh in the mid-nineteenth century, states that there is one Supreme Being, or God, known and believed in by all the varied faiths of the world. The laws and desires of this Being have been revealed to a series of messengers including Jesus, Muhammad, Krishna and Buddha. The Georgia Tech Baha'i Club currently has 15 active student members. The group's mission statement available on their website states: "We promote the oneness of humanity, equality of women and men, unity of religions, harmony of science and religion; a world commonwealth of nations, and other principles of the Baha'i Faith. The world is but one country and mankind its citizens!"
President Siddharth Joshi leads the small Bhakti-Yoga club. He describes the organization's mission as "to expose the Georgia Tech community to an ancient but thoroughly timely, practical, and enjoyable means of generating peace and well-being in one's life, especially in light of the lack thereof in today's fast-paced society. This is done dynamically, our primary activities including, but not limited to: Mantra Meditation, discussions on the philosophy of The Bhagavad-Gita and its relevance today, Vegetarian Feasts, and Mantra chanting sessions accompanied by traditional instrumentation. And this has all been done right on campus on the third floor of the student center, bimonthly."
The club is the campus branch of the larger Bhakti-Yoga Center of Atlanta. Siddharth Joshi said of the Atlanta Bhakti-Yoga community, "they themselves are very enthused to introduce the tenets of this spiritual doctrine and its concomitant practices to the Georgia Tech community. Despite the lack of widespread interest, we did not lose heart, as we still derived great spiritual fulfillment amongst ourselves, the small group that we were."
Like the Bhakti-Yoga Club, most student groups have some affiliation to a larger, off-campus religious organization. The Jewish Student Union works with the Atlanta YAD, an association of young Jewish adults, student and nonstudent, throughout the metro area.
YAD, Hebrew for "hand," coordinates events and gatherings with all the Jewish organizations at Georgia Tech as well as Emory, Agnes Scott, Georgia State, Oglethorpe University, Perimeter College, Kennesaw State and the University of Georgia. Jewish fraternities and sororities on these campuses, such as the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity at Tech, also work with YAD to bring the younger Jewish community of Atlanta together.
Other spiritual organizations at Tech are individual branches of larger associations. Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC) is an international, interdenominational Christian organization founded to spread and nurture Christian ideals at universities worldwide. CCC has regional offices here in Atlanta and brings together Christian students from across the metro area for worship and public service.
The other predominant Christian student organization is Christian Campus Fellowship. Advisor Tom Atkins described current enrollment, "There are about five hundred active members involved in Bible study and all of the small groups and fellowship activities. Approximately three hundred usually show up on Thursday night, which is the big weekly service," Atkins said. Like all student religious groups CCF seeks to help its members keep the faith using a community support structure, evident its mission statement, "Fellowship is a refuge that creates and nurtures a closer walk with the Lord for the students of Georgia Tech."
The Muslim Student Association (MSA) has taken an active roll not only in bringing together believers, but also in educating non-Islamic students. Beginning September 11, there will be an options course entitled Islam 101: Introduction to Islam. The lecture series is geared towards non-Muslim students to educate them on the religion and culture of Islam. There is no fee for the course.
Shahzan Akbar, president of the 250-member MSA, described the organization's goals for believers and nonbelievers in Islam, "Our objective is to promote a proper understanding and awareness of Islam to both non-Muslims and Muslims on and off campus. We strive to provide a forum to unite the Tech community to provide activities that would enhance understanding of Islam and form bonds of friendship. Our activities are open to people of all religions who want to increase their knowledge of Islam or simply want to meet some new people," Akbar said.