JULIA
Indiana University '18
While a lot of millennials are leaning away from organized religion and identifying as agnostic, there are still a lot out there sticking with what our families taught us. It seems like in college a lot of us put practicing our religion on hold. We're worrying about bigger things, like which brunch spot will cure a hangover the best.
However, I'm sure a lot of you, like me, have found yourself in this situation: a young agnostic in a group of every-Sunday Catholics (or any other religion). You'll be especially familiar with any of these scenarios if you're attending college anywhere in the Midwest or on the East Coast.
Trying to get them to understand that agnostic does not mean atheist.
This is a very important starting point, because agnostic and atheist are very different things. People who identify as atheist don't believe in God or any form of a God at all; they believe in nothing remotely paralleling religion or a higher power.
People identifying as agnostic can actually be really spiritual. Just because we don't believe in a God doesn't mean we don't believe in anything. It just means we don't believe any one religion has the answer and we just try to live our lives.
Frequently dealing with attempts to drag you to church.
I'd say almost monthly, one of my friends tries to drag me to church, thinking that one service is going to change my life. If we wanted to go to church, we would. That's like asking us to go to your science club when we're a fashion major. It doesn't make sense.
Trying to explain that religious services genuinely make you uncomfortable.
It feels weird to be in a place with people worshiping something you don't necessarily believe in, so please stop asking us to go. Yes, we understand it means a lot to you and while we get why you love the services, you love them because you identify with them-we don't.
Having to explain why you will not take your future children to church.
We aren't going to raise our kids under a religion we aren't 100 percent sold on just because the typical American family goes to church. We want our kids to grow up in a way that lets them form their own religious beliefs, just like we've formed our own.
A lot of us grew up in religious, church-going families. Growing up in my family we were just Easter and Christmas Catholics, but we were still Catholic. I have no problem with the fact that my mother had me go to church, but it was kind of a waste of time because even from a young age, I was unsure of the religion. I, just like many other agnostics, take that into account when thinking about future families.
Being uncomfortable with the phrase "I'm praying for you."
While saying that you'll send prayers someone's way may be comforting to you, it's not to me. I don't believe in the power of prayer. And while I appreciate the gesture, it doesn't mean much to me.
Explaining that "spiritual" does not mean weed-smoking, acid-dropping hippy.
I bet a lot of you are familiar with the sideways looks you get when telling someone you're spiritual. They probably immediately think of some tree hugging super hippy who meditates an hour a day. That's not the case at all.
All we mean when we tell you we're spiritual is that we believe in this idea of living your life for a purpose and belief that there could be a higher power. Essentially, we just believe in being the best people we can be and living the best life we can without worrying too much about what happens next or what rules we should follow while we are alive.