The Student Room Group

Bye bye, Bible: Christianity should not be mandatory

http://www.nouse.co.uk/2015/03/03/bye-bye-bible-christianity-should-not-be-mandatory/

How would you feel if upon arriving at your university accommodation for the first time you found that a Bible had been placed upon your bed? For many years at Aberystwyth University this has been a common experience, however many of their students are now demanding that the university stops doing this.

More than half of the students are against this practice because presumption that all students would want a copy of the Bible is β€œunacceptable” and can be β€œuncomfortable” for some. Universities are highly multicultural establishments and therefore does this process grant a certain kind of preference towards one particular faith or is this just blowing the issue out of proportion?

Well firstly it is important to understand the difference between producing an accessible environment for the Christian student body and at what point this could perhaps overstep the mark and become offensive to the other students. Providing the Christian students with a copy of the Bible is a great idea, since it could perhaps provide them with a welcoming sense of security during the otherwise frightening experience of moving to university.

However, making it a matter of course that all students will receive a copy is most definitely not the best method of doing this. By allowing the distribution of Bibles across the entirety of the accommodation, the university is making an active assumption about the belief systems of their student body. It could perhaps suggest to many students that they are a minority amongst a predominantly Christian group of people and therefore produce the adverse effect of making them feel isolated at an already difficult period of their lives. Although it may make the transition of moving to university easier for those who are part of the Christian faith, it may in fact make the whole process much more difficult for those with different belief systems.

However, a compromise could easily be made. Why not make it so that students can opt-in to have a Bible in their accommodation? This way the university grants accessibility to those who wish to have a copy, whilst avoiding causing any potential offense to students who do not. In fact, the only way for the university to be both accommodating and respectful would be to offer their students with access to any religious text that they require.


This article seems like its moaning about nothing. Putting Bibles on students beds is a harmless tradition; I honestly don't think anyone could feel excluded from seeing a Bible on their bed.

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Bibles cost money, I think its a little bit unnecessary. But at the same time I think there's a lot of good stuff in the bible, like love thy neighbour, and even the bad stuff in the bible is interesting to read.
I'm very surprised they do that at a university - I can understand hotels, but universities are supposed to be diverse and forward thinking.

As an atheist I wouldn't care (though I would not want one and it would go on the 'Bible pile' with all the ones I was given at school). However, it does seem a bit outdated to me, and has the potential to freak out, say, a new Muslim student from another country who doesn't know it's just an old tradition.
(edited 9 years ago)
Rather than a copy of Gideon's Bible, a free text book relating to their course would be better. The only reason the OP thinks it is much ado about nothing, is because he is a Christian. So how about a Quran in every room?
Reply 4
Another ABC rule - Anything But Christ.

Not surprising, it's the spirit of the age. The devil wants to rob people of the Good News.
Even as a Christian I don't really see how the organizers thought this was a good idea...I personally think it's harmless anyways but how many people are you going to reach by just handing them a bible that they can easily just put or even throw away without any context or reason for them to actually read it? It's great that they want incoming believers to feel like they can still go strong for their faith but at the same time, doing things like this are what give us a bad rep in the first place, people just assume we're trying to shove our way down their throats smh
I personally think it's a waste of printing costs and paper to put a Bible on everyone's bed. Lord knows that with all the non-Christian students, they probably get used as doorstops at the very best and are maybe even desecrated at the very worst.

If this were happening at my uni, I would vote against the practice, even though I am Catholic myself. I don't think it's right to just shove Bibles onto people who don't want them and might take offense or, as the article highlights, be made to feel that they're the odd one out in some way :nope:
I always find bibles in hotel rooms. Didn't know they also do it in universities as well. Seems a bit stupid to me assuming that everyone is Christian.
Depends on the size of the bible really. If it can hold a door open, I'd happily have a free one.
Reply 9
Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd
I personally think it's a waste of printing costs and paper to put a Bible on everyone's bed. Lord knows that with all the non-Christian students, they probably get used as doorstops at the very best and are maybe even desecrated at the very worst.

If this were happening at my uni, I would vote against the practice, even though I am Catholic myself. I don't think it's right to just shove Bibles onto people who don't want them and might take offense or, as the article highlights, be made to feel that they're the odd one out in some way :nope:


PRSOM :sad:

Original post by navarre
http://www.nouse.co.uk/2015/03/03/bye-bye-bible-christianity-should-not-be-mandatory/



This article seems like its moaning about nothing. Putting Bibles on students beds is a harmless tradition; I honestly don't think anyone could feel excluded from seeing a Bible on their bed.


What about those excluded or pushed away by the Church? Surely this would do them no favours, to be reminded of what they have undergone.
Reply 10
Original post by dozyrosie
Is this really what is expected of students, sounds like studentphobia to me. People tend to see a book as worthy of reading or not, maybe you are thinking of Nazi students.



No, not Nazi students. Normal young idiot students away from their parents for the first time.

Hey book with no use to course I'm doing after a skin full, seams like a very reasonable and useful thing to do to it.

Just like walking into the kitchen of your shared flat and finding a bag of compost pride of place on the table (true)

The joy's of 18 year olds and alcohol :rolleyes:
Yeah, religions shouldn't be mandatory. On my bed I prefer kamasutra to the Bible. Lol.

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Reply 12
Original post by dozyrosie
I never met such entertaining characters, I found most quite normal, maybe it is the way forward now. I haven't read of any booze fueled students causing the collapse of their universities, so I must conclude that they don't exist, or never get into their second year.



Ok, sorry, you clearly have a religious view, and can't see the humor in a flippant remark and tongue in check humor. but hey, that's why we are all different.

Not every one thinks holy books should be held in the utmost regard.
Reply 13
Original post by dozyrosie
I am an atheist, and proud of it. This is about indoctrinating one religion over another, is that fair play? I did suggest a book critical to the course was more relevant than a Gideon Bible.


So am I. I don't think it is, indoctrinating. Just a stupid old throwback from the past, which the uni should get over.

I imagine most people will do with it what I did with the Gideon I got given at school. Throw it in the bin on the way out, after complaining what a diabolical waste of time the assembly was.

On the other hand if it's a nice big copy, excellent door stop.

Bible or Quran or any other holy text, to me, is just like saying I prefer Snow White to Sleeping Beauty.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by clh_hilary
There's evidence to support the view that science will provide a better explanation, as it has been in modern times; whilst religions are supposedly unchanging and have never offered a better alternative.

It's not faith to think that science can provide a better explanation.


There is zero empirical evidence to suggest that such a model will be developed in physics. I'm not saying for a second that it will never, I'm saying that believing that one day it will IS faith. Just because other areas of science have such explanations, that is not evidence that physics one day will.

Hope/belief/confidence in the future capabilities of science IS faith by Dawkins' very definition.





(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by dozyrosie
They have nothing to do with faith, they are evidence based. Just because you cannot tell the difference between faith and evidence, is no reason to try to redefine what Dawkins is saying.


The irony here is so marvellous.

Could you cite the paper that shows that physics will one day provide a Darwinesque model for explaining the universe?
I wouldn't mind if a Bible was put in my room. (Or a Quran, etc) Anyone who got offended would need to get over it tbh. It seems a bit of a waste of time though because I'm sure if someone wanted to read the Bible they would bring their own.
Reply 17
Original post by Rooster523
I'm saying that believing that one day it will IS faith.


Hope is not the same as belief and religious faith. Do you only hope that your particular god exists?
Original post by Ascention
Hope is not the same as belief and religious faith. Do you only hope that your particular god exists?


The Mods appear to have completely wiped out my posts: In the argument Dawkins was making, he offered that hope in Physics as an argument against the existence of God.

Hoping something will come to fruition and using that hope as an argument against God is faith.

Dawkins himself states faith is belief without evidence. There is no evidence to suggest such a devise will come to fruition, therefore postulating it as an argument against God IS faith.

If Dawkins were to be more honest, he would say he has faith. Where Dawkins falls down is his definition of faith. When I say I have faith in God, I don't mean I believe in God despite their being no evidence, I mean I trust Him. In the same way one can say they have faith in their own abilities. Dawkins has faith (trusts) that science will one day answer everything.

My original point (which the Mods deleted) was that the God Delusion as a counter argument against the existence of God is flawed and there are infinitely better atheistic writers out there.
It does seem like an outdated tradition.

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