"There's been a tremendous growth in the number of students who are searching for spirituality and the meaning of faith," says Vera Shaw, a former HRCF advisor who remains active with the group. "I think that's a window on to our whole culture."

A visible demonstration that Harvard students have become more interested in religious questions was a recent debate entitled "Does God Exist?" The debate featured speakers from HRCF and the Harvard Secular Society and drew more than 300 people to a packed lecture hall in the Science Center.

"If that debate had happened in the 1950s, you wouldn't have gotten 30 people," Shaw says.

WHY GOD WHY?

Administrators and students attribute the rise to a number of factors, but most agree that the religious character in Harvard has mirrored the resurgence of religious interest in American society.

"I think it is a reflection of what's going on in society--students are finding ways to maintain continuities in their lives when they get to college," Epps says.

Gomes says he agreed that the resurgence of religion on campus was a reflection of societal trends, but speculates on another possible source of the new fascination with religion.

"These generations of undergraduates have been the products of the first truly secular parenting generation of our culture," Gomes says.

Suggesting that religion among students may be an "enterprise in discontinuity," he says the students' new interest might be a form of rebellion against their non-religious parents.

"Too many people actually believed in a generaltheory of secularization that was popular in thelate '50s and early '60s," Gomes said. "Peopleactually believed that religion was on the wayout-and they were proven wrong."

A HIGHER TOLERANCE?

Many student leaders agree that the fearsdisplayed during this spring's UndergraduateCouncil election were an exception to the normallyaccepting attitudes of Harvard students.

"I think it's easy to be religious on campus ifyou want to be," Kay says. "People are not onlytolerant; they're genuinely curious and ask youquestions about your religion."

HRCF Officer Elizabeth M Boschee '99 also saysthat, in her experience, the Harvard community hasbeen tolerant of religious groups.

Boschee did, however, say she thoughtnon-religious students were sometimes suspiciousof religious groups that held activities oncampus.

"[HRCF and AACF] passed out hot chocolate tostudents in front of the Science Center inDecember," Boschee says. "A lot of students askedus why we were doing it, and I think a smallnumber took it as an attempt to convert otherstudents."