Every fall, Dr. Monte Cox’s Living World Religions class takes a trip to Chicago at the end of the semester to observe the world religions they have studied. About 89 students and 11 chaperones left Thursday, Nov. 8, and returned Sunday, Nov. 11, after visiting six locations of other religions and then attending church on Sunday morning.
On Friday and Saturday, the group visited a Baha’i temple, Hindu temple, mosque, Sikh temple, synagogue and Buddhist temple.
Senior psychology major Haley Rogers said she was just excited about the trip in general.
“Everybody is going to be so out of their comfort zones,” Rogers said. “It’s going to be kind of scary to be up front and center with these people. Definitely a bit of a culture shock.”
Though the annual trip was first designed14 years ago, Cox said its objective is still the same.
“The purpose of the trip is to expose the students to practitioners of these world religions that we have studied this semester,” Cox said. “So that they have a chance to interact with Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and so forth.”
On Friday night, after visiting four of the six locations, Cox said the group gathers in a small room in the hostel to read the Bible and process the day. This, Cox said, is the highlight of the trip for him.
“I ask the students to bring their Bibles and just read a portion of Scripture without comment that is more meaningful to them Friday night than it was Friday morning,” Cox said. “Because of just having had the experience of being in these four different places of worship where Jesus is not the center of attention, the center of worship. I think it’s a moving experience to hear those Scriptures read, and I think many students come to appreciate the Gospel better against the backdrop of the religious alternatives.”
According to Cox, the benefits of the trip include clarifying the Gospel and helping students to overcome the intimidation of Islam. He said it helps put a face to religions that so many people practice. He said he thinks that after the trip, the students become more compassionate because of their knowledge.
Though the trip is what Rogers said she was really looking forward to, she said she is glad she got to take the class in general, as well. Rogers said she realized early on that everyone tries really hard to get into the class and was interested to see what it is all about. She said this was her chance to get more in depth in other religions and really absorb it, as well as preparing herself to talk to non-believers.
Cox’s spring Living World Religions class will travel to Dallas for a similar experience later next semester.
