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Originally Posted by Jack Jones
I doubt the RCU was formed to encourage me to turn female. Nor do I think Ed's proposed African-American group would expect me to convert. But Christians in FIRST holding services next to the field would be an affront to my chunk of diversity.
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Jack,
Your post does an excellent job conveying my feelings on the matter. Thank you.
Both the RCU and the theoretical African-American group would serve to empower an underrepresented minority in FIRST. Considering that 77% of Americans consider themselves Christian, I don't believe that a Christian FIRST group would be serving the
same function as the RCU (women are only about 30% of the engineering work force). In my opinion, the formation of such a group is unnecessary, because there isn't a perceivable bias in the science and engineering fields towards or against certain religions. Comparing religion in FIRST to gender in FIRST is comparing apples to oranges; you can't tell what religion a person is just by looking at them. However, skin color and gender DO make a difference in one's socio-economic status and the way one is perceived by society (and consequently, one's likelihood of becoming an engineer). Such a group wouldn't serve Christians in the same way that the RCU serves women.
However, I am not against the idea of a Christian group which meets
privately for the sole purposes of spiritual and social networking (similar to the Jewish Seder held a few years ago). However, to make such a group's presence felt at a competition would
cross that boundary, and would undoubtedly make people feel uncomfortable, including myself.
One thing I can always count on while attending a FIRST competition is the fact that I will feel no pressure to become someone who I do not want to be. What makes the diversity found in FIRST great is that we are all united together for a common purpose - promoting the science and technology fields to young people. Introducing a palpable religious element could threaten to topple that unity by making certain members of FIRST feel alienated (those in the minority who are not Christian).
Dylan, if you do choose to form a Christian FIRST group, I would ask that your group conduct itself in such a way that other FIRST participants don't feel like they are being pressured to change their personal beliefs, or feel that they are being alienated (and no, the answer can't be "join, and you won't feel alienated anymore"). I think that this line is easily blurred within Christianity, because part of being a Christian is to spread the word of Jesus.
In short, if your intent is to promote Christianity to other FIRSTers (handing out pamphlets asking people to convert, or making your presence felt to those who do not want to feel it), I ask you to respectfully take it somewhere else. You should form your own group, not associated with FIRST, and do so outside of the FIRST venue.
However, if your intent is just to meet other Christian FIRSTers for social purposes, then I encourage you to form your group. However, please don't hold prayer services on the field, because that would make it appear as if FIRST endorsed Christianity (and non-Christians would feel uncomfortable). If you want to hold a group prayer, perhaps you could hold one in the morning, before matches begin, somewhere outside. People could join if they wanted to, but they could just as easily walk away without feeling pressured. As long as what you do doesn't have an overwhelming presence inside the FIRST venue, I would probably feel comfortable.
What makes FIRST so great to me is that I can look up to any mentor or student, regardless of their religion or political views, and respect them for their contributions to science, technology, FIRST, or their team. When those people choose to publicly associate themselves with a religious belief, it makes it harder for me to view them as role models, because all of a sudden there may be less common ground between us. That is why I usually dislike reading political threads here on Chief Delphi. I hate it when I say to myself, "Oh no, he's not a Republican too, is he?" about someone who I hold respect for. When a role model reveals information about themselves that doesn't pertain to FIRST or it's goals, they may cause people to ignore their positive contributions to FIRST - seeing only the political or religious side of that person.
What makes diversity in FIRST flourish is the fact that no matter where we come from, we can agree on a certain set of moral and social objectives which have been defined by the organization (gracious professionalism, the promotion of science/technology to kids). Our religious beliefs should remain disassociated from FIRST (although that doesn't mean we don't abide by them in FIRST), in the sense that we promote our religious beliefs elsewhere. When participating FIRST, we promote FIRST's values, and when participating in a Church/political rally, we promote our other personal beliefs. The two should not be mixed up, lest one interferes with the other's ability to fulfill it's intended purpose.
Jaine