Secularism and the Demise of Religious Garb

            In The Language of Clothes, Alison Lurie explores how we use clothes as an unspoken language that can identify us within a group, or as Shabana Mir contends, can exclude us in the case of the hijab. This phenomenon can certainly be seen on campus, for example the popularity of pastel shorts and boat shoes sends a message, as these items are commonly signifiers of “preppy” culture. However, there is surprisingly few, if any, religious attire on campus.

            Hamilton is a pretty secular campus, yet I struggle to think of even one example of religious wear beyond the occasional necklace. Is this just a result of every single student being that secular, or has the campus culture changed those that might otherwise dress religiously? A Jewish friend of mine attends a liberal arts school, which has a similar campus atmosphere as Hamilton. Throughout his life, even in high school, he wore a yarmulke. However, within only a few weeks into college he shed it for a more secular, less “unique” look. According to him, he felt awkward meeting new people with it on as he felt immediately judged, a very similar experience brought up by Mir on the hijab.  To fit in and be socially accepted, he felt the need to change the way in which he expresses his religious beliefs. As Lurie puts it: “Apart from the chameleon, man is the only animal who can change his skin to suit his background. Indeed, if he is to function successfully he must do so” (209). If people who commonly wear religious garb feel isolated and pressured to change, do the rest of us have a responsibility to be more welcoming? Is it even possible to do so, or is this exclusionary effect just a universal result of a secular environment that can’t be helped?

College & Clothing: Where Culture Trumps Faith

To the trained student’s eye, clothing choices betray a person’s socio-economic status, cultural identity, and religion, and cause the “watcher” to make a snap judgment of the student being observed. This judgmental nature creates a desire among college students to fit in with the social norms of college – colorful pants, Vineyard Vine fleeces, and fancy jewelry – for fear of standing out and being ostracized. 

 Understanding the fear of being judged solely on one’s clothing makes the lack of stars of David, crosses, and Hijabs on the Hill make sense. Instead of disregarding clothing norms, many students of faith choose to hide their religious identity by tucking their religious necklaces and symbols under their shirts or in their bags until they are alone or surrounded by like-minded individuals. 

 The few students who do choose to wear their faith quite literally on their sleeve, do so, many times, to “stick it” to the dominant college culture, as if saying, “Sure, judge me on my faith, but there is more to me than just this cross!” The fashion language on campus forces religious students to label themselves as overly devout or irreligious.

"Fashion too is a language of signs, a nonverbal system of communication." 

– Alison Lurie 

Clothing on Hamilton's Campus

During her lecture, Shabana Mir mentioned that youth culture doesn’t fit with religion. The clash between these cultures is very evident on college campus’, such as Hamilton College. The lack of religious clothing or symbols is most likely due to the fact that people want to fit in and they don’t want to wear symbols or objects that will cast them as outsiders.

In the few weeks that I’ve been here, I’ve noticed a trend among the clothing worn by students. The most common items being, flannel shirts, Sperrys, L.L. Bean boots, LuLu Lemon leggings, etc. Did the Hamilton admissions office coincidentally accept students with the same fashion choices? Or has our transition into this school influenced a change in our wardrobes in order to fit the norm?

I think most students, even those who want to be unique and original, still feel the need to be accepted and to fit in amongst their peers. Because of this, I think some students choose to wear or not to wear certain articles of clothing.  Our fashion choices tell our peers that we’re a part of the community, or that we’re outsiders

Campus Life: the Sacred & the Sporty Clothes

    In our jammed-packed lives, we’re practically running from one event to another. Many of us on campus are physically active as well, so it’s not uncommon in class to see people in sport’s clothes coming from the gym or about to hit the track. But how about during services?

     I asked a Jewish friend of mine if being religious shaped how she dressed. We agreed that as Jewish and Catholic students, we perhaps dressed more conservatively than most, especially during services.

     “But sometimes I wear sports clothes to service, because I simply don’t have time to change before,” Jane* said. And I agreed. Many other students, including myself, have shown up to services a tad sweaty. I’d say there’s at least one person in sportswear at our Sunday Mass. 

      “It’s something about the space too” Jane commented, “We have services in the Hub [a public event space on campus], and it’s not like going to Temple. Nor is the Chapel like going to Mass for you, I bet. Knowing that during concerts a cappella groups drink beer on that alter makes it, I don’t know, different.”

     And she was right. For me, the modest, white Protestant Chapel did not have the same amount of sacredness for me as my home parish with its kneelers, stained glass, and incense in the air.

     For Jane and I, the casual campus vibe and our busy, active lives pervade into our sacred space. The spaces for our services were also more casual than what we were used to, less traditional. Maybe that’s a reason why us students feel its ok to be sporty and worship: the buildings themselves are such a mix of the typical “college life” and the religious.

*name changed 

Power of Perception

        As Shabana Mir discussed in both her lecture and article, “You Can’t Really Look Normal and Dress Modestly”, appearance is a crucial part of our identity. Although we may hope and believe that we’re in control of our first impressions, there is something that always gets the chance to speak first – our clothes. Despite our best efforts to reserve judgment until actually getting to know someone, it’s incredibly difficult to not categorize an individual at first glance. Later on, we may be able to look past this initial judgment but nonetheless a first assessment has already been made. It’s hard to deny this aspect of ourselves. It’s how we work to make sense of our surroundings and generally function on a day-to-day basis. The issue to discuss here is the disconnect that occurs between the message we put out and the message that is received.

        What I hope to convey is not always what others pick up on. As such, a fair amount of control lies with the observer. As I was sitting down to consider how religious clothing or paraphernalia factors into identity on campus, I realized that I couldn’t come up with many examples. This may be attributed to the fact that there just simply isn’t a lot of religious clothing worn around campus. Or perhaps it’s because I’m not looking for it. The most common example I could think of was cross necklaces. Do I notice these because they’re most common or because, as a Catholic, this is a symbol I am most attuned to pick up? The answers to the commonality of religious paraphernalia on campus are not ones that I know. However, thinking about this issue drew my attention to the power of perception. It highlighted the fact that while we may like to believe our identity is in our hands, the beliefs and perceptions of our peers in fact play a significant role in our identities. Thus, bringing forth the question of how private is the formation of our identities? Do we internalize the perceptions of self that society throws back at us?