Let’s face it, religion is taboo. In the US especially, we know it exists but it bothers us to talk about it. However, I’m here to break the rules and talk about one of the touchiest subjects we know, with the help of M. Chloe Mulderig, Adjunct Sociology Professor at TCNJ.
Mulderig was raised Roman Catholic in rural, conservative Pennsylvania but during her years at Dartmouth College, she found inspiration in a different faith. After her sophomore year, she officially converted to Islam. I asked Mulderig what her thought process was to make that final decision and, turns out, her college major inspired her. When she lived in Morocco, where she studied abroad during her sophomore year, she felt drawn to the people’s way of life and began to question the values of our society.
After her conversion, being a white and now Muslim woman wasn’t the easiest combination for Dr. M to deal with. The reactions of her friends and the public were a “mixed bag,” she said. Her Muslim friends were overjoyed, her college friends who were studying religion or anthropology accepted her decision and many of her Catholic friends were “cool with it” but some of her high school friends rejected her; “I’d be lying if I said it was all positive,” Mulderig commented.
The next question that most of you are probably thinking is: does she wear a hijab? Dr. M said that for any Muslim woman, her dress is her own personal decision. Mulderig’s decision is not to wear one. She says her choice is to not wear anything that is obviously Islamic. In Morocco, she wore the appropriate outfits for the social situations that she was in but her hijab-wearing days were kept in solidarity with other Muslim women. This is mainly due to the fact that every time she’s worn a headscarf in public, she’s been ridiculed.
“Maybe this makes me a coward for hiding behind my ‘passing privilege’, but I do not wear the headscarf in public,” Mulderig added.
However, the negativity she receives from the public didn’t influence her decision. The US is one of the most religious countries in the world, Dr. M said. She also said that we are “incredibly religiously illiterate,” something I couldn’t agree more with. The solution to the problem, says Mulderig, is to teach about religions in schools and offer courses that educate students – college students in particular – to “interact with the world as intelligent and tolerable people.”
College is where you find yourself and whether that be tied to religion or not, Mulderig offers that all of us college kids be educated, talk to people of whatever religion or group we are considering being a part of and know the consequences. This should be our guide, not only to creating a path for the rest of our lives but also one that is purely based on our own judgement.
“If that’s the community for you, though, then do what is right by you, damn the consequences,” Mulderig said.