What is a College of the Church?
"Many will confuse a college of the church with a church college — where faith is inculcated into students, who usually come from a particular faith tradition. That is not what St. Olaf is about. We value students' struggles with issues of their own faith and try to provide an environment that will enable them to discover what they believe."
— Janet Kringen Thompson '70, Director of Church Relations
If I'm not a Lutheran — or even Christian — will I fit in at St. Olaf?
"Religion is a vibrant and visible part of life at St. Olaf. It is a part of many conversations, inside and outside the classroom. But you don't have to be religious, Christian or Lutheran to play baseball, sing, study, dance...or do anything else around here."
— De Ane Lagerquist, Professor of Religion
How is religion part of campus life?
"St. Olaf has an active student congregation, lively Christian fellowship groups, frequent interfaith dialogue groups, a welcoming Muslim Students Association, a small but significant Jewish Students Association and spontaneous student-led Bible study groups in every residence hall. None of these has strict membership lists to keep track of who is in and who is out. Religion at St. Olaf wants to live with its doors and windows open. But the less obvious presence of religion is perhaps most important in campus life. The St. Olaf community encourages its members to treat one another like children of God. We don't do it perfectly, but we think it is a good goal."
— W. Bruce Benson, College Pastor
How is religion part of academic life?
"St. Olaf understands that a good liberal arts education requires that students become intelligent interpreters of religion, along with other areas of human culture. In addition, it requires that all its students know about the biblical tradition — important for Christians and Jews and Western culture — and the theological traditions of the Christian church. The college also offers courses that deal with religion in culture and history and quite a range of courses in the great religions of the world. Religious questions and questions of fundamental value can be pursued intelligently and critically in any course."
— Charles Wilson '69, Professor of Religion and Associate Dean for Humanities
