Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself, and I think he meant it. I try, I often fail (probably multiple times a day). I try again, I fail again. It’s a never-ending cycle, but somewhere in that rise and fall my heart grows a bit and then I am more capable of loving. Always imperfect, but continually filled up with more love. I think this might be what they call grace.

I love my friends who are not Christian just as I love my Christian ones.  Why would I love them any differently? They are all my friends.

At least I thought I loved them all the same.

A few weeks ago, for the first time in my life, I thought about what it meant to be non-Christian in a predominantly Christian environment.  I read “Towards a Multifaith Community at Wellesley College” by Victor Kazanjian, and an uncomfortable realization began to creep over me.

I have often contemplated what it would be like to not be Christian, but I have never contemplated what that means in a predominantly Christian environment. For example, I understand that someone might not celebrate Christmas, but what does it feel like when everyone else is? I realize now why most of my teachers were so insistent in grade school about including songs from the holidays of other traditions in our winter holiday programs.

My college is much like Wellesley; both are women’s colleges traditionally affiliated with Christianity. As Chaplain Kazanjian described all the lingering symbols, traditions, and values associated with Christianity at Wellesley, I began to see a mirror image of my school.

I thought my campus was secular and neutral, and thus not offensive or oppressive to anyone. But now I know that my experience is only one part of a multifaceted story.

Are my friends who are not Christian comfortable on my campus? What was it like for my Jewish friend Lauren during her first-year orientation, when she saw that the only worship service that weekend was a Christian one? What is it like to see a huge Christmas tree in the dining hall for weeks on end? How does it feel when the gorgeous, newly –built chapel on campus is proclaimed to be a Christian space that also welcomes people of all faiths?

I don’t know how it feels.

I am sorry I have never talked to you about your faith and what it means to you as you live out your life.

Personal faith has long been a topic I have approached gingerly, having been taught that it is not a subject to be brought up in polite company. This summer, though, I have talked about it. A lot. I have told my story and listened to others’ stories. I have asked questions I thought were silly, and my friends have answered them, always patiently.

Now I want to know the rest of the story of what it means to be religious on my campus.  I cannot love my neighbor completely without knowing my neighbor, and I cannot know my neighbor until I know about what moves their heart and motivates them. Can I really love someone if I do not know about something so close to their heart?