Founded by the British in the wake of the Reformation, Trinity College Dublin was, for a long time, a bastion of protestantism and imperialism. Despite being situated in what was, at the time, a largely Catholic country, its rituals were hostile towards the Catholic faith.
But times have changed. Trinity has since committed to fostering an inclusive religious environment – not just for Catholics, but for members of all faiths. In 1973, the Trinity Chapel in Front Square was reconsecrated for use by all Christian denominations; a prayer room in the Goldsmith Building is now open to people of all religions. To an onlooker, Trinity is ostensibly quite inclusive.
To gauge students’ perceptions of the place of religion on campus today, Trinity News spoke to members of the Muslim, Jewish, and Catholic faiths.
Religious student societies seem to be key in the effort to accommodate students of various faiths on campus. Speaking to Trinity News, Ameera Saeed, Junior Sophister student and President of the Muslim Students Association (MSA) said the society “has become a centrepiece of [her] college journey”. She praised the MSA for offering a “vital safe space” for students to “practise their faith openly and authentically.” Before joining the MSA, Saed “struggled to fully participate in campus life,” given the omnipresence of alcohol. But “discovering the MSA changed [her] whole college experience.”
“Not all of Trinity is as welcoming to religious students as their respective societies are.
Similarly, speaking to Trinity News, a Jewish student who wishes to remain anonymous commended the Jewish society, pointing out that it is currently “the only way Trinity Jewry can come together and organise themselves, for the good times and the bad times.” Even more troubling however, is his experience that , not all of Trinity is as welcoming to religious students as their respective societies are. When asked if he felt there was any stigma faced by himself and members of other religions, he said he did not “think there is a stigma against religion across the board,” but nonetheless he believes that “different religions are treated differently [on campus]”. While he did not think “there is any stigma against [his] being Jewish religiously”, he said he frequently “feels uncomfortable when students get intensely involved in certain international conflicts” while “Europe is facing a historic rise in antisemitism.”
On a more positive note, he said that “as someone who is quite openly an orthodox Jew, I’ve actually received nothing but respect. I have gotten quite a few compliments for it. Most people barely notice when I do things only orthodox Jews do.”
“Thankfully, I haven’t experienced anyone being confrontational to me on campus. All the teachers and students I know have been nothing but nice to me”. However, he did assert that he has “heard other Jewish students tell [him] stories where people have been confrontational towards them, and I can’t imagine it helps when certain campus groups voice their opinions when they don’t need to.”
Saeed also made similar comments on this issue, remarking that “the MSA have felt there is a stigma around Islam from college staff, fellow students and other societies at times.” She suggested that “a lack of understanding or knowledge of our religion” may be to blame for this. She pointed to more than one instance of the MSA cutting ties with other societies due to “reports of Islamophobia from within their committee[s].”
Despite these instances of Islamophobia, Saeed has retained a positive outlook on campus culture; recognising the “many students and staff” who are “very accommodating and understanding of Islam.” She gave an example of the GMB offering students free use of their spaces while the prayer room in Goldsmith was closed due to a lighting issue. This positivity is in spite of the fact that there are still barriers to Muslim student inclusion on campus.
Speaking to Trinity News, James Garavan, a Catholic Senior Fresher Philosophy and Latin student, confirmed that “much of [Trinity’s] institutional bias” towards Catholics has been addressed. But he does not think that Trinity is a perfect environment for Catholic students.
For Garavan, “holding Catholic beliefs today often means standing apart on issues like abortion and gender theory – issues where Catholic views are seen as extremely unpopular on campus.” Garavan consequently lamented that Catholics are made to “feel like heretics” in a university that “should encourage a vibrant exchange of ideas.” He referenced a recent Student Union referendum that called for the TCDSU to be “radical, egalitarian, and autonomous and to avoid affiliating with far-right groups, including [but not limited to] Christian extremists.”
“‘Catholicism is not a fringe extremist belief but rather a faith shared by millions’”
This has caused tension in Garavan’s view: “while it’s right to reject discrimination, many Catholics and other Christians felt that equating Christian extremism with hate groups showed both a misunderstanding of Christian values and a clear bias against Christianity, while not similarly targeting other faiths that might hold similar views on controversial issues.” He continued, stating that “it’s important to clarify that Catholicism is not a fringe extremist belief but rather a faith shared by millions, driven by love for others and a devotion to God.”
While Garavan is “grateful” that said referendum was retracted, he still thinks “more could be done.” Rather than taking “political stances that represent fewer and fewer students”, the SU “should aim to represent all members of the college, including Muslims, Jews, Christians, and others.” he affirms He disagreed with their “using student fees to fund protests on issues like transgender healthcare and abortion”, which he said clash with religious views held by some students. As he put it : “an impartial college, with policies focusing on the shared values of all students, would better serve Trinity’s diverse religious communities.”
When asked if there was any action he would like to see the College take to make Trinity a more inclusive place for its Jewish community, the anonymous Jewish student echoed Garavan’s view, saying he thinks making “campus institutions such as the Student Union apolitical” would make Jews feel “much more comfortable in Trinity.”
Saeed, on the other hand, felt that “if the university staff, faculty and students had a better understanding of Islam and its values,” Muslim students would feel more accommodated by Trinity. She outlined a number of actions the College could take to improve the Muslim student experience: “creating options for halal food on campus, ensuring that professors are educated on Islamic religious holidays so that Muslim students can be accommodated for, and providing appropriately sized prayer spaces on campus.”
While strides towards diversity and inclusivity have been made in the past decades, Trinity nevertheless remains a microcosm of society at large. As such, there remains stigma surrounding religious beliefs on our campus. But it is certainly not all bad; as described by the interviewees, religious societies offer a safe haven for students, and the student body at large seems to be broadly accepting of divergent religious views. As it stands, members of various faiths and non-faith alike can study peacefully in tandem, and that is what is of upmost importance.
