THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013
PAGE 3A
RELIGION
Religious views change despite devout upbringing
David Gier, a junior from Overland Park, introduces a speaker at a Society for Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics meeting Tuesday evening in the Kansas Union.
ASHLEIGH TIDWELL
atidwell@kansan.com
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
Having grown up as a part of a Catholic family and attending a Catholic school, David Gier knows all about the religion. He knows the rules, he went to Mass, he took communion and was enrolled in religion classes.
From preschool through 12th grade, Gier, a junior from Overland Park, went through the motions and accepted the faith. It was such a big part of his life, he didn't ask questions and simply went along with the opinions of those around him.
But Gier was never truly passionate about the religion that his life revolved around.
"I believed what I was being taught but I just never felt a connection with it," Gier said.
Still, he followed the religion and kept his thoughts to himself.
Eventually this lack of connection transformed into a general feeling of doubt. In high school he began
questioning what he had been taught and wasn't sure if he believed it anymore. After taking a closer look at Christianity as a whole, his doubts mounted and his belief began to waver.
"It wasn't just an
overnight decision not to believe," Gier said. "It was more of a general change in the way I view the world."
Since his family was Catholic, Gier said he didn't have anyone to turn to who would understand his doubts. Instead he began to form his own opinions about God and religion and decided it wasn't something he wanted to believe in.
"I felt that there just wasn't enough there to support the beliefs I had grown up with." Gier said.
When he went to college, he found the Society for Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics, where he could discuss his views with peers who understood where
he was coming from
SOMA is a group of students who are non-theistic or have questions or doubts about their religion. The group aims to answer questions and serve as a community for atheist and agnostic students.
"SOMA was the sort of community I had been looking for to discuss my doubts about religion," Gier said.
Since joining SOMA as a freshman, Gier has filled many administrative roles and now serves as the group's president.
The appeal of SOMA for Gier was that you don't have to know what you believe in when you come.
"It's just a place where students can talk about their doubts with religion," Gier said. "They don't have to be completely without religion. We try to help everyone find answers."
"It wasn't just an overnight decision not to believe. It was more of a general change in the way I view the world."
While some students like Gier identify as atheists, meaning they don't believe there is a God, others identify as agnostics.
DAVID GIER
Overland Park junior
Though the two terms are often confused, a nognostics generally don't completely deny that there may be a superior being, they just chose not to put faith into ideas in which they
don't see a concrete basis.
Amy Seeds, a senior from Overbrook, comes from a Christian family but now identifies as agnostic.
After going to church and Sunday school as a kid, she began to question her faith in middle school. Seeds attempted to find out more about God and religion by testing out different Christian sects but didn't find anything to strengthen her beliefs.
"If anything it solidified my indifference to the presence of a superior being." Seeds said of the experience.
Seeds eventually came to a realization that religion caused
more problems than it solved. Seeds thinks that Christian opposition tends to push people away from the religion.
"In my opinion, organized religion has a way of causing more hate and lack of tolerance in the
She may not believe in religion herself but she doesn't deny that religion is an important part in many people's lives.
world," Seeds said.
"I still think faith is something that is good for a person to have?"
Seeds said, "It's just not something I feel that I need for myself."
Edited by Sarah Kramer
This Saturday is the 108th anniversary of Helium being discovered at KU and the 41st anniversary of the first Jayhawk
KU$\textcircled{1}$nfo
alum to travel in space.
POLICE REPORTS
information based on the Douglas County Sheriff's Office booking recap.
- A 24-year-old female was arrested yesterday on the 800 block of Iowa Street on suspicion of operating a vehicle under the influence and no insurance. A $600 bond was paid.
- A 47-year-old female was arrested Tuesday on the 3600 block of 25th Street on suspicion of giving a worthless check for a purchase of more than $1,000. A $500 bond was paid.
— Emily Donovan