Religious Life and Mount Holyoke College: A Now and Then Look at Faith

Melissa Simon

Mount Holyoke 1947: “The College is distinctly Christian, but undenominational, welcoming students of every faith”[1]

Mount Holyoke 2003: “Though the College has no formal religious affiliation, the breadth of religious life on campus is as varied and rich as the backgrounds of its students, faculty, and staff”[2].

Pop-culture has romanticized the 1950’s as an era of post-World War II idealism, patriotism and the baby boom. Recent films such as “Mona Lisa Smile” have encouraged young people to revisit the 1950’s and to reflect on its relationship to the present. While some of these connections may be a stretch, present day college students in particularly can gain a sense of perspective by studying the papers and documents that previous generations have left behind. Religious life on college campuses has been a particular area of evolution and change. Most elite private schools of the era were in some way affiliated with a religious movement including Mount Holyoke College which was founded in 1837 as a Protestant Seminary. Through contrasting the role of religion at Mount Holyoke in 1947/1948 and today, one can gain a sense of the radical change that has occurred in the perception and understandings of faith in the United States over the last half-century.

In 1947, there were approximately eleven hundred students at Mount Holyoke College, with twenty-thousand students having enrolled since the founding of the college and eleven-thousand having graduated[3]. Today the college is a global community of two thousand two hundred students drawing from more than 80 other countries and from all 50 United States. The Alumnae Associate counts over 30,000 members[4]. Applicants to the college in 1947 were required to list their religious affiliation and though Mount Holyoke did not have a formal quota policy, there was a general understanding that only a small percentage of the student body was permitted to be non-Protestant. Upon matriculation to the college, a student information file was created on confidential yellow cards containing a variety of personal data. At the top of each card, there were spaces for information regarding the “Religious Denomination” of a student and whether they were a “Church Member”[5]. Today, the Office of Admission is forbidden by law to ask about religious affiliation and while there are no formal records kept by the college referring to religion or church membership. The recording of information related to one’s religious affiliation marks an area of change when comparing the college in the 1950’s and today.

In the 1950’s, religious services at Mount Holyoke only reflected Christian tradition. However there was some variety in the branches of the Protestant faith, namely the “undenominational” Sunday morning services in Abbey Chapel and the “preachers of many different denominations [visiting] the college pulpit” [6]. The emphasis on Christianity manifested itself in several different ways at the college as members of the faculty, staff and the student body alike propagated the idea that “sincerity in religion is an integral part of life on this campus” [7]. Members of the Mount Holyoke classes during the 1950’s were required to attend chapel services. “Three times a week assemblies are held: two in the chapel in the mornings and one on public affairs in Chapin on either Wednesday or Thursday night… attendance at three out of the six [services] is required”[8]. NonProtestant students were still required to follow institution’s rules mandated in the Mount Holyoke Bulletin that “the attendance of the students is required for a portion of the Sunday morning services and for the chapel or assembly exercises during the week”[9]. In contrast to the solitary Protestant expression of faith on campus in 1947/1948, the diversity of present day Mount Holyoke is reflected in its religious life programming. The college has nine active faith groups on campus: Baha'i, Buddhist, Catholic, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Protestant, Unitarian Universalist, and Wiccan. There is also a recognized body of nondenominational seekers who define themselves as “postdenominational” or “multifaith”[10]. The groups act autonomously, planning their own events with the aid of a chaplain or religious adviser. Each faith group has the opportunity to plan its own services, retreats, events, and community service projects and to initiate special offerings for the College community as a whole. Optional weekly services are held for each of the religious traditions on campus. Dean of Religious Life Andrea Ayvazian explains, “Religious pluralism on campus is extensive, and it's a treasure. We need to hear from theorists and practitioners of various faiths about what gives meaning to each tradition, and we need to be unafraid of our differences”[11]. The multifaceted religious life of present day MHC offers a sharp contrast to the Christian programming of yesteryear.

The Fellowship of Faiths, the Mount Holyoke religious organization was created in May 1935 by several students. According to the 1947/1948 Freshman Handbook, the group functioned with a twenty-seven member council composed of officers, committee heads, class representatives and members of the faculty and administration[12]. Many students saw the group as an asset to the college. “Fellowship: Through its three commissions of worship, education and service, the Fellowship of Faiths has been beneficial both to the college students and the surrounding communities. It unites faiths and actions in its striving for the common good”[13]. The Fellowship offered students a wide range of faith related activities and a large number of students were in some way involved or affiliated with the organization[14]. Through the group was a “fellowship” of different faiths, namely Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish, it associated itself with the Student Christian Movement and assisted in the activities of the village church[15]. Understandings of interfaith or multifaith were quite different from today’s perceptions. At present day Mount Holyoke, Eliot House acts as a catalyst for interfaith dialogue and programming propelled by the contemporary belief that interfaith work enhances understanding of different faith groups and strengthens understanding of one's own beliefs. The Multifaith Council serves as the leadership body for interfaith events on campus and is composed of three members of each of the more than nine faith groups as well as three seekers[16]. Some alumnae from the 1950’s struggle with understanding Religious Life at the college today because it differs so much from the program that was run years ago. However just as they may argue that the Protestant worship on campus in 1947 reflected their community, students today maintain that the diverse expressions of faith offer them opportunities to learn about other religions and to reflect positively on their own set of beliefs.

As the Mount Holyoke campus has changed over the last fifty years, so has the physical face of religious life. In the 1950’s there was no formal center for religious life. Abbey Chapel, which resembles a gothic church, served as the main space for religious programs. Due to initiative by classes in the 1950’s and 1960’s, today there is a bustling gathering place for those interested in faith. Eliot House, the Center for Spiritual Life and Community Service, holds the offices of the college chaplains and the Dean of Religious Life. It is also home to Wa-Shin-An, the Japanese meditation garden and teahouse, to the Muslim Prayer room, the Kosher/Halal Kitchen and the new Hindu prayer space. Eliot House is full of students, faculty and staff who attend the many workshops, programs, meals, services, and festivals that are held there. The Abbey Chapel has also evolved. Though the main space remains the same, the small chapel along side the larger space is now an Interfaith Sanctuary, open to students of all faith backgrounds for private reflection and community gatherings. Formerly the small Christian prayer chapel and converted by students, staff, and faculty over a two-year period in the mid 1990’s, Abbey Interfaith Sanctuary holds sacred objects and texts from the different faith groups represented on campus as well as decorative hand painted banners created by students representing images common between faiths.

Conclusion:

Because student member of the Fellowship were required to pay a $1 membership fee and fill out membership cards, there is an accurate list of those involved with religious activities in the 1940’s and 1950’s[17].

In 2004 with the wide-spread use of e-mail for communication on campus, there has been a remarkable change in terms of the records concerning students and religious life.

[1] Mount Holyoke College Bulletin, January 1948, page 146, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

[2] Mount Holyoke College Bulletin, 2003-2004, page 10, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

[3] Mount Holyoke College Bulletin, January 1948, page 10, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

[4] http://www.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/

[5] Mary Browning Nelson Papers, Yellow Card, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

[6] Freshman Handbook 1947-1948, page 35, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

[7] Freshman Handbook 1947-1948, page 36, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

[8] Freshman Handbook 1947-1948, page 36, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

[9] Mount Holyoke College Bulletin, January 1948, page 146, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

[10] http://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/religlife/faith.shtml

[11] http://www.mtholyoke.edu/adm/whymhc/stulife.shtml

[12] Freshman Handbook 1947-1948, page 28, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

[13] Llamarada 1948, page 17, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

[14] Fellowship of Faiths Papers, Registration Cards 1946-1952, Campus Organizations, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

[15] Freshman Handbook 1947-1948, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

[16] http://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/religlife/faith.shtml

[17] Fellowship of Faiths Membership Cards, 1948-1952, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

Bibliography

Mount Holyoke College Bulletin, January 1948, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

Mount Holyoke College Bulletin, 2003-2004, page 10, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

http://www.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/

Mary Browning Nelson Papers, Yellow Card, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

Freshman Handbook 1947-1948, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/religlife/faith.shtml

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/adm/whymhc/stulife.shtml

Llamarada 1948, page 17, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

Fellowship of Faiths Papers, Registration Cards 1946-1952, Campus Organizations, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

Fellowship of Faiths Membership Cards, 1948-1952, Archives and Special Collections, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA