Grand View University’s culture is saturated with Christianity. Chapel, Bible studies, a campus pastor and clubs that associate themselves with religion are all located on campus. But what about atheists on Grand View’s campus? How is Grand View University responding to their experiences? Michael Miller tells his story as an atheist on campus, and Pastor Russell Lackey discusses how he is working to change Grand View’s religious culture.
Michael Miller
Miller was raised in a Lutheran home with a Presbyterian minister as his grandfather. Miller remembers having doubts and asking questions about religion as a young child.
“All kinds of doubts crept in,” Miller said. “I remember in my confirmation class asking the instructor there all kinds of questions. I never really got a satisfying answer.”
His doubts stretched out over years. At one point, he considered himself to be an agnostic, but after dropping out of college, he began to read more about philosophy and evolution, coming to the conclusion that there was no need for God to exist.
“At that point, I had already gotten rid of the idea of a just God or a Christian-type God that judges good and evil,” Miller said. “I came to the point where I realized that it isn’t necessary for there to be a God. There doesn’t have to be a creator.”
This was the moment Miller took on the label of atheist.
Initially, Miller panicked because it was frightening to realize that there was no force looking out for him.
Miller said a perception exists that atheists have no ethics, so he kept his atheism from his Christian parents for years in fear that they would see him differently. When he began to be more open with people about his lack of faith, he noticed shifts in the way they interacted with him, as though there was a red mark on his sleeve. He said class introductions are awkward because there are a lot of Christians on campus who talk about their faith.
“I can’t talk about that because I’ll lose a lot of people just on the first day,” Miller said. “They won’t trust me.”
Miller’s isolation is felt beyond personal interactions. When Miller decided to go back to school, he chose Grand View because of its location. Miller noticed that on the application there was a question about his religious affiliation. Each specified religion was a branch of Christianity, and there was one box for “other,” so he wrote “atheist” in large letters.
Feeling as though he is distrusted and being at a college with a culture inundated in Christianity certainly has an impact on Miller’s experience on campus.
“In emails and around campus, you see all these different Bible studies and religious groups like FCA. It’s just like I’m excluded. Like I don’t belong,” Miller said.
Miller joined an atheist organization on Facebook, but said he doesn’t like the negative posts about religion.
“There’s a lot of bashing that goes on on both sides, and that’s one thing that I have a problem with. The stuff that pops up is just bashing religion. I don’t want to bash people that need their meaning through faith,” Miller said.
His experience hasn’t been entirely negative, however. After confessing his atheistic beliefs in one class, Miller developed a friendship with a classmate who had confessed her faith.
“Now we usually have a brief conversation after every class period, which is usually one of the highlights of my day,” Miller said.
Pastor Russell Lackey
Pastor Russell Lackey is finding new ways to address the wave of religious doubt, including atheism. Lackey spends much of his time trying to create space for the spiritually frustrated.
Lackey sits in the student center for an hour each week for “Rant to Me,” where students can confidentially discuss any issue, especially aggravations caused by religion.
According to Lackey, Christians also have an obligation to Atheists. While Lackey would like to see people become Christians, he doesn’t believe that conversion is a Christian’s only obligation to atheists. Rather, Christians should try to make them feel welcomed and cared for.
“If you’re in America you’re going to have to engage Christianity because you’re surrounded by it. But I feel like Christians then have a responsibility, which is to create room for the one who doesn’t feel at home,” Lackey said.
