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Conventional wisdom says that American universities that have lost their religious roots are places where neither spiritual longings nor moral boundaries can get a hearing. But Donna Freitas, a religion professor at Boston University, says that students themselves defy this wisdom by showing an insatiable interest in spirituality and ethics, particularly as they challenge the hypersexed party scene dominant on such campuses. Freitas spoke with CT assistant editor Katelyn Beaty about her latest book, Sex and the Soul, and what nonreligious schools (which Freitas calls spiritual schools) can gain from born-again virgins and evangelical authors such as Joshua Harris and Lauren Winner.
Sex and the Soul emerged from conversations in your class "Dating and Friendship" at St. Michael's College. What about those conversations made you want to investigate sex and spirituality on campuses?
I thought it was interesting that even though hookup culture was prominent on campus, I had so many students trying to get into the class, dying to have a conversation about spirituality and religion in relation to their dating lives. I saw in them a yearning to critique hookup culture with spirituality and religion, even if they were unsure of what that meant.
There was also a turning point during my class when my students came back from spring break. One student admitted out loud that she hated hookup culture—that she was participating in it but that it didn't make her happy. Suddenly the whole class shifted: they were all shocked to realize that they were all unhappy; they were acting a certain way because they felt like that's what they were supposed to do. I was interested in that dissonance between what they thought everyone wanted to do ...
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ZACHARY FARINA
Ms. Beaty: As you brought out in your article, when it comes to Christian education, the most dangerous period for our children is between grade school and high school. Thus, homeschool. I had to homeschool my children (with the help of charter schools and homeschoolhebrew.com). If someone outside of the So Cal area has better opportunities, go for them. Public schools, however, have continued to be a real problem in So Cal.
tony
Donna Freitas is cute in a "born again virgin" sort of way. Why she can't get a date?
Pete Benson, editor UNITYINCHRIST.COM
The article is a good barometer to what's going on in both the Christian schools and colleges and the secular ones, as well as showing the pressures young people come under. Are any of these places teaching them what they need to know once they do get married (since so many are rushing to get (and give) that ring? See www.HOWMARRIAGEWORKS.COM just to get a clue as to what I'm talking about. So much efforts goes into finding Mr. or Miss Right, while so little effort goes into how to maintain a relationship, or just what that relationship entails. If more young people understood the sound principles that make up a relationship, I think it would even transform their dating habits, and help them make realistic and proper choices.