Diversity

GetReligion, which is a blog about reporters, their stories, and whether they "get religion" or are clueless about it, writes about an article in the Washington Post.

The story is about Danny Leydorf who attended a Christian school in Annapolis since he was in kindergarten. For college he selected the University of Maryland, a secular state school in an effort to “test his faith in a more diverse world.” This, as the article nicely outlines, is a growing trend among kids raised in Christian educational environments. For the last 30 years, kids coming out of Christian high schools were directed towards Christian colleges or the mission field and even today there remains hesitancy.

After reading the through the first five paragraphs of the article, one does not have to wonder why Christians are hesitating or are nervous:

“I feel like I exist to be interacting,” the lanky, towheaded 19-year-old said eagerly one day last summer, shortly after his graduation, “and part of that is just getting out there.”

So he’d deliberately picked a large, secular college: the University of Maryland. But the week before he was to leave, the wider world dealt him a blow.

“I hate evangelical Christians,” read the Facebook.com profile of his roommate-to-be, who had seemed so perfect on the phone. He loved politics and “The Simpsons,” like Leydorf, and they even had the same views about how to set up the room. Could it still work?

We later learn that Leydorf decided to ignore the Facebook comment, concluding that the unnamed roommate was using “evangelical” to describe people like “Jerry Falwell whom Leydorf considers intolerant.” (I guess it just depends on how you define “evangelical,” right?)

College kids are not exactly known for their discretion and this is true especially for freshmen. ...

But that doesn’t mean that the Post should simply ignore the irony that Leydorf, raised in a Christian school and is seeking to learn to live in “a more diverse world,” is facing the hate of the real world before he even steps on campus. Perhaps Leydorf’s roommate will learn a thing or two from his new Christian evangelical friend who seems as willing as anyone to embrace diverse environments.

Source: Get Religion - Hate in a story about embracing diversity