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Every generation is marked by distinct examples of media
that define its time period in some way. For our grandparents,
that might have been "To Kill a Mockingbird" or
"The Sound of Music"--for our parents, "E.T.",
"Indiana Jones", "Airplane".
For our generation, I'm going to skim past the
blatantly obvious--namely, Harry Potter and
The Hunger Games--and mention one that a vast majority
of our peer group would swear by. I'm not talking about
a rite of passage, a step toward self-actualization--
I'm talking about Fight Club.
And by your laughter, I can tell that many of you
are thinking, "Wherrreee is she going with this?"
Even if you haven't seen it, you probably know that
Fight Club comes with a set of well-defined rules.
The first is this: You do not talk about Fight Club.
And the second is like unto it,
You DO NOT talk about Fight Club.
Now, I know there are two sitting behind me, but
I bring this up because I'm an Episcopalian. This doesn't mean
we have any particular fondness for Brad Pitt or
pop culture in general…except maybe for U2--but we're often
accurately depicted as viewing religion in a very similar way:
You DO NOT talk about religion in public.
So when our priest for campus ministry, the Reverend
Tambria Lee, asked me to prepare a few words for
this afternoon's ceremony I distinctly remember giving her
this look of abject horror--and there are a number of
reasons for this reaction.
To put it bluntly, faith has become a taboo subject.
Nationwide surveys conducted this year have shown that
the number of irreligious millennials--that would be us, folks--
is growing exponentially. What started decades ago at 5 percent
has risen to 11, 15, and now almost 30 percent of our peer group.
Another 25 percent are unaffiliated and view faith as a small,
irrelevant detail in the way they conduct their lives.
But because you're sitting here before me, I would hazard
a guess that faith, for you, is not a secret--it's not
something you hide, something you disguise. And that
would put you, my friends, in the minority. We've found
ourselves at the crossroads of life twice in these past
four years, first as timid first-year students and now,
beginning tomorrow, as graduates of one of the best
public universities in the nation.
We know from first-hand experience that to find yourself at
such a crossroads doesn't necessarily mean we don't know
what to do with ourselves. It's possible that you know
exactly what you want to do--what your calling might be--
where July, August, January may find you. So no,
that's not what I mean by "crossroads". What I mean is that
we have a choice.
Looking at these statistics alone, it goes without saying that
we were not born into religion, although for many of us
that might not have become apparent until we came to Carolina.
All of a sudden, it was us--not parents, not siblings,
not society--that dictated our religious choices. What should
we do with our time? How should we cope with anger,
sadness, joy? Whom should we turn to in times of
uncertainty? How should we define community?
And should these choices transform who we've become,
and who we hope to be?
That being said, it's become clear that since the moment
we were given this choice, each and every one of us has been
a pilgrim on our own spiritual journey. And it has
not been--nor will it be--an easy one.
We live in a world that is becoming incredibly intelligent.
At our fingertips exists more knowledge than has
ever been available before--knowledge that's a mouse-click
or a scientific study away. We're part of a world that
challenges, endlessly, what it's assumed to be true since
the dawn of time, and in doing so has questioned
anything it cannot see or prove.
For many people, particularly within our own age group,
knowledge and faith have become mutually exclusive.
The concept of religion is now bringing with it often
inaccurate stereotypes of the faiths that are most vocal
about their beliefs, which unfortunately include ignorance,
disapproval, deprecation of those who don't agree…
and as a result, many of us have resorted to silence--
to internalizing our views of spirituality and our actions
in accordance with them.
But even so, your experiences in campus ministries,
in churches, temples, synagogues, in missions and retreats
and outings with friends--they have transformed you
in a way that only you can fully comprehend.
So, now that we find ourselves at this crossroads once again,
I ask you to prove them wrong. Not with pressure,
not with pointed fingers, not even with words, but with those
aspects of faith that you embody with every fiber of your being.
Our perceptions of reality are never the same, nor should
we expect them to be. So go out into the world with
the ability to appreciate differences of opinion, of choice,
of lifestyle. And all the while, exemplify the changes
that faith has instilled in you. Don't just talk about it, show it.
Be it. Live it. Consider this journey at every step of the way.
Remember who you are--the identity that Carolina has helped
to shape--as well as who you hope to be--that person
who goes out into the world as a representative of
this University.
Go forth with purpose, and with confidence in an ability that
you've nurtured since the day you chose a path for yourself--
and that is, the ability to balance knowledge and belief.
If we choose not to do so, who will? Thank you.