Students fill God-shaped hole in variety of fashions, faiths, feelings
Christians live with the purpose of glorifying God and spreading His love. Muslims are dedicated to serving and sacrificing for Allah (“God” in Arabic) to purify their soul, and Jews believe they are chosen by God to model holiness and ethics. Buddhists strive to reach Nirvana, which is only possible in the absence of greed, hatred, and ignorance. Hmong culture values their ancestors and emphasizes treating them with utmost respect.
While each religious individual has a unique relationship to whichever higher power they choose to worship, the differences in the overall purpose of each religion seem very slight. At each sect’s core is a selfless desire to worship a force superior to mankind, and an obligation to treat others with the compassion they rightfully deserve. Thus, no matter the specific religious affiliation, faithful people choose to dedicate time to worship because they have hope, and are driven to lead a life of empathy, kindness, and forgiveness.
Do non-believers lack these qualities that prescribe moral authority to their life? Some religious people look upon atheists and agnostics with the same sour expression they cast upon the scum beneath their shoe. They believe the lack of faith translates to immorality and ignorance. This mindset impairs their ability to stay true to their own faith (whatever it may be), which demands treating others with respect.
Atheists lack belief in the existence of God, whereas agnostics believe there could be a higher power, but its existence cannot be comprehended by human entities. This is in part due to the lack of tangible evidence. Other people simply choose not to associate themselves with any religion, not because they doubt existence in a higher power, but because they mistrust religious institutions or feel undereducated about the varying faithful groups as a whole.
However, absence of worship does not equate to absence of morality. An anonymous student at West who identifies as an atheist believes that the concept of religion goes beyond the established sects. They believe it is present in every spirit, but the way each person defines their spirituality is distinctive.
“Religion is simply the model of the universe, existence, consciousness, virtue, etc., that answers the questions of why and how the world operates on its most fundamental level, and according to which they believe human society should be organized. I do not think that anyone can be without these things,” they said in response to the prompt: “If you are not religious, why not?”.
They elaborated with evidence from their own experience.
“I do not have a conventional religious practice (going to church, praying, etc.) because I am convinced that there is no God or higher power in the world and such practices are meaningless to me,” they said. “However, I think that the things I do to better my community, such as volunteering or simply treating people with kindness and openness, are guided by a sense of morality that is connected to my religious philosophy.”
Senior and Catholic Violet Krautkramer holds a differing perspective, as faith enriches her life and she feels it could do the same for others.
“It depends on the contentedness of a person, but I feel like there’s always something to miss out on if you don’t acknowledge that there could be something out there,” she said. “It doesn’t have to mean going to church, but the idea of a higher power might create more understanding in your life.”
Krautkramer recalled many experiences in which she needed guidance to ease anxiety and interpersonal conflicts, and turning to God offered a sense of resolution.
“I had a huge fight with my parents, and we went to church fuming,” she said. “However, when we walked out it was as if nothing happened. There was a moment of calm, and in my head I said ‘this isn’t needed anymore, let go.’”
Senior Kaden Button identifies as agnostic, but has immense respect for individuals of faith, especially those who practice with pure intentions of bettering themselves.
“It’s a great outlet for people struggling with things like loss,” he said. “I know that for certain family members of mine, God was a great way to reclaim themselves after great losses and addictions. It was a great way for them to find themselves.”
Others feel confidence in their identity and morality in the absence of religious institutions. Freshman Hazel Nuon, who considers herself an agnostic, was nurtured by parents who valued ethicality, but enforced it within their own home instead of in a mosque, church, or temple.
“You just need to know what’s wrong and what’s right, you don’t need to do that for a God or higher power, you can just do it for yourself and to be a good human,” she said.
While morality may be an immense component of faith, the other major factor is seeking explanation to the things that cannot be taught in science class or derived from any textbook. While the “answers” are merely beliefs that lack reasoning or certainty, some, including Krautkramer, feel it is better to put faith in something uncertain than nothing at all.
At the age of 13, Krautkramer felt lost in the depths of death and what happens after. As her belief in eternal life faltered, her anxieties heightened. She is not alone in this experience; many young adults begin to ponder the meaning of life, and what happens before/after, as school presses the future into their hesitant hands. These complex concepts are consuming and anxiety is inevitable. While religion is not the only way to cope with the broadening understanding of the human experience, it was of benefit to Krautkramer.
“For a while I thought maybe there isn’t an afterlife, maybe there’s just a black void. When I started praying about it, it helped the anxiety I felt go away,” she said. “One thing we follow in Catholicism is not worrying about everything, and instead praying about everything. Even just meditating about it by yourself can help you find the answers you need.”
Junior Cole Heideman attends a Protestant church, and his faith helps him find comfort in the ephemeral nature of life.
“When someone dies, I feel like people need to realize that the person has moved on to a better place,” he said. “The way I think about it is that the life I live right now isn’t really my home and where I belong, I feel like there’s something beyond that and this is just a small glimpse of that reality.”
Button has had his own share of apprehension over the unknowns, and recognizes the void within himself which demands distraction from reality. He firmly believes that religion is not the only healthy way to fill the heart’s hollow.
“I feel like anything you make can fill that hole. It could be God, it could be other practices of religion that you find comfort in, it could be the belief that there is no God,” he said. “For me it’s music, it’s a very significant part of my life, and it’s helped me escape in some of my darkest times.”
While this “hole” leaves some feeling hollow, others function without acknowledging its presence. Perhaps the size of uncertainties’ void varies depending on the person, just like every other feature which conforms remarkably to each individual. Nuon feels the void in her heart is slight.
“Some questions should be left unanswered, and some questions don’t need an answer,” she said about the before and after of life on earth.
The heart’s hole phenomenon is undeniable, and death is one of life’s few communal properties, but what happens after is unanswerable, as Nuon suggests. Everyone’s curiosity varies, and some require a life of religious practice to feel at ease with their fate. However, there are other ways.
Whenever one does something that requires commitment or invokes passion, they are freed from the universal anxiety over destiny and redeem a full heart. Perhaps the heart’s hole ebbs and flows, just like every aspect of the human experience, leaving it up to the individual to enclose.
by Jazmine Blustin
Published February 3rd, 2025
Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue IV