God & Man at Harvard

Do colleges confirm or corrode religious belief? Last week, after a year of polling and tabulating undergraduate opinion, a Student Council committee gave its answer for Harvard: belief or disbelief is formed before college, and college strengthens and intellectualizes these attitudes, but makes few conversions to either side. Highlights of the report: 60% of Harvard students (190 were polled, only 150 bothered to reply) "require some form of religious orientation or belief in order to achieve a fully mature philosophy of life." Only 40% attend church frequently, but 79% consider questions about the existence and nature of God of "considerable" or "very great" importance.

The committee makes some concrete suggestions, including more religion courses for undergraduates, and offers a bit of undergraduate pomposity: "What is the meaning of existence? Is there a God? . . . These questions are weighty and cosmic . . ." In the end, the report gives the Cambridge campus its blessing: "Harvard is good for the faith of students."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.