ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 2, 1996 TAG: 9611050108
SECTION: RELIGION PAGE: B-9 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG
SOURCE: ALISON FREEHLING NEWPORT NEWS DAILY PRESS
Religion, the Greek system, intramural sports and music associations.
That's ``What's Hot'' at the College of William and Mary these days, according to the "1997 Princeton Review Student Advantage Guide to the Best 310 Colleges." The ``What's Not'' list, incidentally, includes drugs, sex, cigarettes and the library.
To hear "Princeton Review" tell it, religion is a defining - if not the defining - characteristic of William and Mary's student body. The guide ranks the college as the most religious state-supported school in the nation and the 20th-most-religious school overall.
That lumps William and Mary with such church-affiliated schools as Brigham Young, Holy Cross and Notre Dame.
"Princeton Review" officials are the first to admit that the results aren't exactly scientific. The list is based on a random campus poll of students using a 70-question survey.
``It's done much in the same way of a high school senior who might come and look around campus and just ask some casual questions,'' said Edward Custard, a co-author of the 1997 guide.
The religion list is based on responses to the statement, ``students are very religious.'' The five answer options ranged from ``strongly agree'' to ``strongly disagree.'' About 200 students were surveyed on each of the 310 campuses, Custard said. William and Mary has an enrollment of about 5,500 undergraduates and 2,200 graduate students.
But despite the unscientific nature of the poll, many students and religious leaders on campus said they weren't surprised by the result.
Scott Deacle, president of the Interfaith Council, which represents 12 different faiths on campus, said he remembers being surprised as a freshman about the interest in religion at a state school.
``My sister went to Penn State, and it was nothing like this,'' said Deacle, now a senior. ``I was expecting to be in a minority, but the number of people active in their religious groups is pretty extraordinary.''
``I think maybe because William and Mary is such a traditional school, students come expecting to be involved in those types of activities,'' said David Hindman, a United Methodist and one of four full-time ministers on campus.
Beyond those active in religious groups and area churches, some students said, there is little way of knowing the feeling of the student body as a whole.
``The students who are religious are really dedicated, but I don't know if I would say a lot of people are religious,'' said junior Jonathan Hunley, news editor of the Flat Hat, the student newspaper. ``I know a lot of people who pray for their grades, but I don't know if that counts.''
William and Mary, founded in 1693, originally was affiliated with the Church of England. The school went public in 1906.
There are more than 30 religious organizations on campus, many involved in community service. Catholics make up the largest group on campus, Hindman said. Student groups include Intervarsity Christian Fellowship; Student Muslim Association; Christian Scientists; Fellowship of Christian Athletes; Agape Christian Fellowship, made up primarily of Asian-American students; and Ebony Expressions Gospel Choir.
The Interfaith Council's primary goal is to build understanding among students of different faiths, Deacle said. Each year, the group sponsors a retreat, as well as a service for Thanksgiving and another to remember victims of the Holocaust. There are four full-time ministers on campus, representing Intervarsity and Catholics, Baptists and United Methodists. ``I think it's fair to say that religion is an integral part of life on this campus,'' Hindman said.
Many students also leave campus to practice their faiths. Bruton Parish Church Episcopal congregation, for example, gets about 100 new members from among incoming freshman each year, said the Rev. Martin J. Bagay.
The college's religion department, founded in 1968, has nine full-time professors. About 1,200 students enroll each year in the 20 religion courses offered, said department chairman Thomas Finn. ``There's a very strong contingent of religion-oriented students,'' Finn said.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. A remnant of the school's Anglican Church past, theby CNBchapel of the 18th-century Wren Building is a popular destination
among College of William and Mary visitors. It's the "most
religious" state-supported university in the U.S., according to a
recent publication.