THE BATTALION
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 1979
Page 9
he big four get competition
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Jleligion fills spiritual and social needs in B-CS
| By COLIN CROMBIE
" Special to the Battalion
^ ava Forty-two percent of American
orr lults went to church in a typical
luftl during the bicentennial in 76,
RHA ' rdinu to the latest obtainable
olluD poll of church attendance.
111 S 1 Nationally in 1972 more than 62
1 0 °2, Icent were church members but
’ illbe May about 36 P ercent of the
-yan-t 'ollege Station population
NON e church members.
Sixty-eight of the 94 Bryan-
jlege Station churches and reli-
"'^~ r oups were contacted in a re-
•m. mf
jus groups were ... ..
nt survey of church membership,
ill meetl e ther with an estimated 100-
ember average for each small
ISC B that cou,d n0t be contacted ’
m, „X show a combined membership
s," 11 about 36,000 for the 100,000
' yanfCollege Station population
at 7:3 0|icluding Texas A&M University).
502, R As inembership can be higher
Begular attendance the differ-
(M 11 nice between local and national av-
les ^ ( age!weekly attendance may be
Tow, eater than the 14 percent between
Move figures.
p 1In the other pew is the possibility
Bby the Rev. Bob E. Waters of
7:30] JhA A &M United Methodist
)rma!i hurch. He suggests that because of
; e area’s transient population many
Rollie churchgoers may not be mem-
;rs.
1 t l ,e s And also, out taking their sab-
ith, may be the local “un
art wariurched.”
s sentbt|H0nanist Edward L. Ericson, in
-riddenliflosten’s “Religious America,”
, MSC lites “The ‘unchurched’ are those
Hs of Americans ... who de-
ine to join a church out of convic-
m,|not those who are “merely in-
fferent or inactive. ”
be
"For the unchurched,” Ericson
mtinues, “religion is a personal
s are avfl wnsectarian matter rather than
i9 -] question of church affiliation or
; is curreB ritual -
“One might say that humanity is
„ Mlffl'eligion and the great, wide
world is their temple.”
However, no local organization or
spokesman for the unchurched
could be found.
For local churchgoers there are
more than 25 denominations to
choose from among the 94 religious
groups. Most of them represent
some form of mainstream Chris
tianity, such as Catholic, Presbyte
rian, Baptist and Methodist faiths.
Other denominations include the
Baha i Faith, Seventh Day Adven
tists, Jehova’s Witnesses and the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints (Mormons).
Thirty to 40 clergymen meet once
a month as the Bryan-College Sta
tion Pastor’s Association. The as
sociation represents about a dozen
mainstream denominations, and is
open to any local qualified cleric.
“The association is dominantly
Christian,’’ says Waters, president
of the association, “but we would
not be unhappy with the presence of
others.”
But the local denominations are
only parts of the whole that is reli
gion. Religion can be broader in its
scope.
Be he member, attendant, un
churched or indifferent, religion in
American society affects almost
everyone at some time in his life,
besides fulfilling certain social and
psychological needs.
Religion, says Dr. Jon Alston, a
Texas A&M sociology professor who
has specialized in religion, offers a
sense of community and answers the
ultimate questions — questions in
cluding those about the meaning of
life, evil and unfairness, immortality
and “why I am here.”
“It gives a general purpose in
life,” he says.
As society progresses and be
comes more complicated, Alston
explains, an evolutionary process of
religion brings a change from
pantheism to the concept of a su
preme being. Eventually, the idea
is that modern societies would not
need religion.
In 1970, a Gallup poll showed 75
percent of American adults to think
religion as a whole was losing its in
fluence on American life. Their
main reason was that “people are
was losing its influence whereas 69
percent said its influence was in
creasing.
However, by 1975 the censer ap
peared to be swinging back, as 31
percent said religion was increasing
its influence.
Also, a Gallup poll in 1971
showed that Canada and the United
i 11! 1!! 11'.'!!!!'! IIH i!’ i|i|! J 1 ill!! |!! I lll'M HU II'I/I Mil/I |!!!! fl \iy.
A
Dominant
Cult’s
Sacrifice
^2x/g Cfrnj
11(! MlllUiMilUlillU n 111 ' ,,,,ni11
changing — religion isn’t important
any more.”
Fourteen percent said religion
was increasing its influence.
Thirteen years before, in 1957,
the figures were almost opposite.
Fourteen percent then said religion
States topped a list comparing chur
chgoing in seven countries. The
closest was Holland and Greece,
Australia, England and Uruguay
trailed the leaders.
Waters takes a more theological
view of religion, stressing that his is
S: Fred I
ineeringl
ration ma
ealth center fee increase
o be considered by senate
be a Ci
“ower.
er Tow
r 'K By DILLARD STONE
rf-yearB Battalion Staff
ir T Several bills are expected to be
:30 p itBted on at tonight’s meeting of the
Texas A&M University student se-
eak on ip"frile several others have been
RoomJ^B or tabled in committee.
In addition to the regular reports
on HI officers > senators will also hear
report by Jeb Hensarling, presi-
entofthe American Student Fed-
rt l:30p|ation, on that organization’s
AIA\vO ess ;
One bill to be considered calls for
implementation of a compulsory
:al service fee to supplement
lurrent $15 compulsory group
ital fee used to finance the Be-
Bfealth Center that all students
If
P^yne Morrison, vice president
rfinance, said the bill was to be
jnsidered in that form because
J|b center fees must be raised to
intain the level of health services.
A&M currently charges the
lum $15 for group health in-
®ce, hut state law allows in-
utions to charge additional med-
[ ^jervice fees.
Be medical service fee, charged
JP students, would be the most
J|able way of generating
Btional funds for the health cen-
l r > Morrison said.
■Pother bill recommends that the
■'ersity not increase the penalty
^>n-campus parking tickets. In-
Jo. the bill recommends a
Jiated penalty, with the first two
costing $5, and third and
lessive violations costing $10.
tc senate will also consider bills
ake recommendations to the
Eddie Dominguez '66 ,
Joe Arciniega ’74
state Legislature for the inclusion of
graduate students in the teacher re
tirement system, for the establish
ment of a Texas Guaranteed Student
Loan Program, and against abolition
of the Permanent University Fund.
Killed in committee were bills to
change the honors system to a
percentage of each class in each col
lege, and one that would have made
programming fees in programmed
dormitories optional.
THE BATT
DOES IT
DAILY
"Monday
through Friday
“one man’s perspective,” and not
representative of his Methodist de
nomination.
“The function of religion,” he
says, “Is to tell man of his insepara
ble, inalienable relationship to
whatever name you call God. It is
not merely to save the self, but to
save the community.”
More specifically, Waters says
“the church is a symbol of the com
monalities we all have. It tells us
that the final form of humanity is in
community.
“We go there for nurture, for es
sence.”
And for Waters, religion does
more than fulfill man’s needs — it is
a basic human need.
“All humanity is in one room, in
essence, and religion is the founda
tion on which it all stands.”
Pastor Hugh Beck of the Uluthe-
ran Chapel says religion is a way to
perceive the whole of reality and
how everything interweaves to
make the whole.
He also takes a theological stand
when religion is specified as Chris
tianity.
“The interweaving,” Beck says,
“Finds its center in Christ. A person
in knowing Christ can understand it
better.
“The mystery of Christ is God’s
way of allowing man to focus, to cen
ter on the whole of reality.”
The whole of religion, however,
goes beyond Christianity and all of
its denominations and sects. Nor
does the remainder just comprise
the other world religions such as
Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and
Hinduism.
There are also the cults.
But what is a cult?
A cult is a group of people with a
strong, charismatic and authorita
rian leader. The leader is necessary
for a cult to arise. His followers may
be lonely or depressed when per
suaded to join.
We should not let the Jonestown,
Guyana massacre make us think all
are “of borderline intelligence, mis
fits, castoffs or problem-stricken
minorities,” points out David Lee of
the Houston Chronicle.
And, according to Time, only one
third are “psychologically distres
sed” when they join.
The cult does not need to live
with the leader, but often it is iso
lated from regular society, thus
causing the members to be out of
touch with reality and have a narrow
viewpoint.
The cult offers a sense of fellow
ship and community. But it requires
total commitment to a very strict
discipline, although it provides
psychological and intellectual secu
rity.
“You are given all the answers,”
says Alston.
In America, Newsweek estimates
that 3 million “espouse the teach
ings of 3,000 religious and non
religious cults.”
And furthermore, the theological
definition of a cult varies: whether it
is outside of mainstream Chris
tianity or outside of the major world
religions.
And by either definition there
could be some cults in Bryan-
College Station.
r ALTERATIONS 1
IN THE GRAINS iRADITION OF
OLD TEXAS WHERE MOTHER
TAUGHT DAUGHTER THE FINE
ART OF SEWING — SO HELEN
MARIE TAUGHT EDITH MARIE
THE SECRETS OF SEWING AND
'LTERATIONS.
“DON'T G/VE UP — WE’LL \\
MAKE IT FIT!” X -
AT WELCH'S CLEANERS, WE
NOT ONLY SERVE AS AN EXCEL
LENT DRY CLEANERS BUT WE
SPECIALIZE IN ALTERING HARD
TO FIT EVENING DRESSES,
.TAPERED, SHIRTS, JEAN HEMS,
WATCH POCKETS. ETC
(WE RE JUST A FEW
BLOCKS NORTH OF FED
MART.)
WELCH’S CLEANERS
3819 E. 29th (TOWN & COUNTRY SHOPPING CENTER)
LEVI’S BASIC
DENIMS &
CORDUROYS
$J450
TOP DRAWER
1705 TEXAS AVE. S./CULPEPPER PLAZA
3733 E. 29TH ST./TOWN & COUNTRY CENTER
OF
V
BOOKSTORE
PROFITS WORKSHOP
Wednesday, March 21, 1979
3:30 & 5:15 p.m.
Room 212 Memorial Student Center
All student organizations planning to request funding from Bookstore Profits for the
1979-80 academic year must plan to send a representative to one of these work
shops. This representative should be the individual who will make the actual re
quest. Please plan to attend this important workshop; several new procedures for
this year’s requests will be explained. The deadline for all requests is 4 p.m. March
30, 1979. No request will be accepted after this date.
Entire Stock
of WARM UPS
y 2
price
^BROOKS
r
Special group
12 88
Long Sleeve T-Shirts
2"
Long Sleeve Sport Shirts
10 88
Nike Waffle Trainer
22 90
Brooks Villanova
16 88
BANKAMfRICAIIO
J Locker Room
“Sportshoes Unlimited”
800 Villa Maria (across from Manor Eas . • Open Mon.-Sat. 9:30-6
eC0#uw,„ tther ea,
Er ,ro «n or
»*lr ‘ ca H H
’■kan Food
irem e •>
!“ location-
BEST PIZZA IN
COLLEGE STATION
GREAT HOURS!!
SUN. 11 A.M.-12 MIDNIGHT
MON.-THURS. 4 P.M.-1 A.M.
FRI. 4 P.M.-2 A.M.
SAT. 11 A.M.-2 A.M.
301 PATRICIA ST.
M
SERVICE
DELIVERY
846-3768