Over lattes, students talk faith and God

Warm apple pie, chocolate covered palmier cookies, creamy whipped topping - talk about love at first sight. While perhaps not meant to apply to the desserts featured at Tuesday's opening event, "agape," a Greek word denoting a kind of love that seeks nothing in return, provided the thematic framework for the "Agape Latte" series, Boston College's latest initiative to bring religion to its students.

Sponsored by The Church in the 21st Century Center (C21), the "Agape Latte" series will meet every first Tuesday of the month in Hillside Café at 8:30 p.m., providing students with the opportunity for casual discussion of religious issues. About 150 students attended the inaugural event.

"The Agape Latte series provides a form of intellectual conversation around issues related to the church in a relaxed, non-classroom atmosphere," said Tim Muldoon, Tuesday night's speaker and the director of the C21. Other members involved in the event reiterated this goal, expressing the hope that the new series would draw more students into current discussions about religious issues.

Attending students seemed to have similar goals in terms of what they hoped to get out of the lecture series as a whole.

"I'm looking for ways to tie my faith into everyday life, a hard thing to do in our secularized society, and I thought connecting religious symbolism to popular culture could be a means for the two to converge," said Chiara Rivas-Morello, A&S '10.

The complimentary coffee, tea, and desserts, along with the free travel mugs for the first 100 guests, all contributed to the coffee house atmosphere and provided a welcoming setting for the ensuing lecture and discussion.

"The food and the atmosphere made it a really impressive event. I've never been to a lecture that's been set up so well," said Katie Sellers, A&S '09.

University Vice President Rev. William Neenan, S.J., scheduled to kick off the series with a talk on religious symbols and popular culture, was unfortunately unable to speak Tuesday night but Muldoon substituted with a lecture was entitled: "I'm Spiritual. Who Needs Religion? Meditations on Spirituality, Faith, and the Church." The lecture tackled the general question of the difference between spirituality and religious faith and incorporated a variety of examples and anecdotes to convey the opinion that spirituality inevitably leads to, at the very least, an investigation of organized religion.

"I think that if you consider yourself a spiritual person but it doesn't manifest itself in some kind of religious form, you're fooling yourself," said Muldoon in one of his opening statements, admitting to the provocative nature of his claim but expressing the hope it would inspire later discussion.

Citing excerpts from Henry David Thoreau's Walden, Gerard Manley Hopkins' God's Grandeur, and even playing a short clip from 1999's American Beauty, Muldoon employed complementary and contrasting sources to explore the role both spirituality and religion play in an individual's life.

"Why is there religion? The short answer is that people are reflecting on the meaning of human life; they see themselves as part of a group on a pilgrimage," said Muldoon, introducing an idea he used frequently in addressing what practicing religion essentially means.

He pointed out that in medicine or law, doctors and lawyers must undergo predetermined training and submit to established rules in order to "practice" their vocations.

He connected this parallel to the idea that to "practice" religion, one must submit to certain rules designed to lead an individual toward his or her spiritual goal.

"Religion is fundamentally about practicing something," said Muldoon in conclusion, segueing into the question and answer session that followed the seminar.

In response to concerns about reconciling some of the church's more controversial stances on issues like women's roles and homosexuality with personal religious views, Muldoon responded from both a historical and personal standpoint.

Pointing out that it took the church hundreds of years to get the distinction between Jews and Greeks correct and another thousand or so to straighten out the slavery issue, he emphasized the fact that eventually the church always tends to hit on the correct approach and will continue to develop its stance toward the issues it struggles with today. In addition, Muldoon suggested it may be the social responsibility of the current generation to help in the effort to get these questions right sooner rather than later.

The Agape Latte series, BC's own take on the nationwide Theology on Tap program, will feature Kerry Cronin in November and Rev. Jack Butler, S.J. in December, with the spring lineup to be announced.