The Saint
Believing in St Andrews
N. Fryer
Photo Supplied
The bread is broken, the wine poured and the prayers have finished when I am offered a hunk of the soft
white challah loaf. As a host of salads and dips slowly criss-crosses the table, your correspondent decides that,
despite the transliterations of Hebrew prayers that had gone before, he will definitely be better able to participate
in this part of the Shabbat dinner. Long before kosher blueberry ice-cream appears I have remembered my
friends reactions: "The Jewish society meal? I've heard the food is really good."
The scene might seem out of place in a town and university whose name recalls a Christian heritage allegedly
going back to the fourth century arrival of St Rule (also known as St Regulus), shipwrecked while carrying relics
of the disciple Andrew. Yet, despite later bearing witness to the burning of heretics, today the town and
university foster rich religious diversity.
Beyond at least nine churches (as many as your correspondent counted) St Andrews is home to an Islamic
prayer room (in the Chaplaincy), a Quaker meeting house, and a Pictish burial ground by Lade Braes. All this
without enumerating the places of worship of Dundee and the rest of Fife. A Coptic Church in Kirkcaldy? A
synagogue, a mosque, a Sikh or Hindu temple in Dundee? The list continues and is evidence of the
prominence and pluralism of religious belief in Scotland.
Neither is faith absent from St Andrews students. In a survey conducted by Professor John Anderson of
roughly half the IR undergraduate students at St Andrews in the academic year 2007/8, over 40% responded
that they believed in one or more gods, and more than a quarter prayed regularly. (More students also believed
in heaven than hell, with more female respondents believing in heaven and fewer in hell compared to male respondents). Female students were 25% more likely to believe in the existence of god(s) than their male counterparts, and more likely to pray regularly, whereas weekly attendance rates at religious services hardly differed between the sexes at around 10%.
Although such responses might seem to indicate a decline in regular religious practice within St Andrews student body, the array of student faith societies in St Andrews underlines their vibrancy. The Christian Union (CU), dating back to the late 1800s, exists alongside Catholic, Jewish, Islamic and Pagan societies. The Catholic society has existed in St Andrews since the 1940s where the Pagan society has for 11 years. A Buddhist society once existed, though it later became a cultural society, just as the Jewish society sees itself as a society based around Jewish culture, of which Judaism is a significant part.
Each society has a mission statement, the societies mainly acting as meeting places for people of the faith in question to explore their beliefs and which support believers in their spiritual lives. The societies often also act as forums where non-believers can learn about different religious beliefs. Most societies hold events where visiting speakers help students explore the meaning of the relevant faith, as well as events to help celebrate religious festivals. From Catholic society talks posted as podcasts on their website, to organised celebrations of festivals, such as the Islamic societys Iftar meals to break Ramadan fasting and the Pagan societys celebration of the equinoxes and solstices, a wide range of events are on offer. As the CU, Jewish and Islamic societies are all members of national student faith organisations, inter-university events are not uncommon. Even between societies there have been efforts to learn about each others religions, with an Inter-faith event held on St Andrews day 2008 involving representatives from the CU, Jewish, Islamic and Pagan societies.
Membership and attendance differs from society to society, from 15 regular attendees at some events up to nearly 200 for CU talks. The numbers hide the societies internal diversity; they are usually, so to speak, broad churches. Pagan society President, Joanna Dunster, emphasises the wide array of beliefs covered by the term paganism; the Islamic society welcomes people from all branches of Islam, and even non-Muslims (one is a committee member); the CU maintains a core doctrine based on the Bible's infallible authority, beyond which members beliefs are up to them and their church.
The CU also welcomes non-believers to events, though not as members, in accordance with its mission to spread Jesus teachings. Roo Miller, former CU President, explains, "we love people to come with questions, problems about Christianity, and engage with the issues even as non-Christians but who are happy to learn and debate." Even if proselytising may occasionally brook the resentment of some students, Roo is confident that all Christians expect to encounter opposition when spreading the gospel. As this resistance to evangelising suggests, living in St Andrews is not always easy for faith communities. For the Roo Miller the difficulties are mainly to do with 21st century societal values and idols of money, sex and alcohol. Alcohol and its prominence in student events can also be problematic for Muslims in St Andrews, according to the Islamic Society Secretary Rohan Muir, and is one reason for the society hosting social events for its members. Dietary constraints figure too; some St Andrews eateries serve halal meat, including the Union (though not always, do ask), yet for Muslims the nearest halal meat store is in Dundee, a good deal closer than the nearest kosher butcher in Manchester. As the only sources of kosher meat in St Andrews, Jewish society Shabbat meals are much more than a religious occasion.
Matters are further complicated by the media coverage different faiths are given in Britain. Roo Miller complains of media stereotypes of Christians as weedy and pathetic and of attention given to divisions among Christian churches and Rohan Muir criticises the negative misrepresentation of Islam and Muslims in general. For him, recent debates about whether radicalism exists in some student Islamic societies in Britain risk alienating Muslim students from Islamic societies and the valuable support and advice they can offer, an argument absent from national broadsheets.
In St Andrews, advice and support is at the heart of another invaluable institution in many students spiritual lives, the Chaplaincy. Located in the Mansefield building on Market Street, the Chaplaincy offers facilities primarily to faith groups of all sizes (as long as they are respectful of other faiths), though other Union-affiliated societies can also use them. The Chaplain, Rev. Dr Jamie Walker, has worked here for 16 years, alongside other Christian, Jewish and Islamic Honorary Chaplains (a Pagan Honorary Chaplain is being appointed), and in his time he has seen religious diversity among students increase. He does, however, argue that assigning labels to people is not always helpful.
"You deal with them individually, and you listen to who they are because they are who they are." Indeed, the Chaplaincy offers pastoral care to all St Andrews students, and the Chaplain is happy to talk to students whatever their issues or beliefs. The huge debt of gratitude described by one society President for the respect and understanding shown by the Chaplaincy is a testament to this openness.
From the university's founding to the present, faith has played an important part in the life of St Andrews students. Through the efforts of the Chaplaincy and the students who run university faith societies, in matters of belief as well as academically, the university is today a place that is tolerant and supportive of different perspectives and where, at a formative time of their lives, students can learn about and debate lifes fundamental questions.
