Freedom and religion
By Milt Higgins
Upon first glance he looks like he belongs in the latest boy band to hit the airwaves. He’s dressed in sweatpants, easily confused for straight-legged dress pants, and a flashy, solid bright-red, leather-like short sleeve shirt. His bare right arm revealed three imprinted black tattoos. Despite his handsome looks, fashionable attire and ink, Justin Thurm dresses his soul with something the rest of Coastal Carolina University (CCU) can’t see. His faith.
“You want to talk about religion and faith?” Thurm asked.
He eases his head back, a little confused, but he seems eager to talk, as though he waited to get something off his chest for a while. He said he isn’t used to being approached.
The 20 year-old, Rock Hill, S.C. native awakened to other religions and beliefs, through social avenues and classroom teachings since his arrival at CCU 15 months ago.
Socially, Thurm’s not aligned himself with other spiritual or religious students at CCU, but from classroom teachings, such as sociology, he realizes that other cultures have their own beliefs. He said it’s opened his eyes to religion as a product of social construction, meaning society categorized it.
“All religion has a commonality,” he said, “the praise of a higher being.”
He doesn’t think the university offers the kind of worship he is familiar with, but feels it’s not their responsibility either. He said he doesn’t want to attend service at the Lackey Chapel, out of fear of a possible bad experience. He feels some services cut you off, limiting the full exposure of faith and spirituality he’s used to receiving back home, at what he called a mega-church, Elevation.
Last year he assisted with organizing the Young and Free organization on campus. Young and Free consists of students who come together to share their testimonies in a celebration of faith and religion. CCU permitted the use of Edwards Recital Hall for the gatherings.
When he talks about the Young and Free organization his smile lights-up, as if to say he feels accomplished. He stops himself. He curls his lips to the side, and with a disenchanted voice he said he never attended a gathering. He explains that they wanted him more in a leadership role, but he felt a little overwhelmed with schoolwork and his part-time job, where he works mainly for commission, selling clothes at the trendy Buckle clothing store. He felt embarrassed to say, he feels unorganized for a leadership position.
Time management and feeling overwhelmed with schoolwork seem like common explanations for CCU student’s decrease in formal worship. Especially to those living on their own for the first time. Jordan Williams and Kelly Madera echo Thurm’s view of time. Both have one year more experience at CCU than Thurm.
Williams, 20, attends her Baptist church in Orangeburg every Sunday during the summer and winter breaks. The junior health promotions major said her friends attended church service almost every Sunday during the school year. She currently spends her Sundays in the Kimbel Library.
“Just because I’m here (library), it hasn’t changed my faith,” she said.
She said she needed to find a place in the Conway area to experiment, when she found the time.
Jaczuile Pegues, 24, makes time for his faith. In his final semester of his senior year at CCU, the sociology major enrolled in 17 credit hours. He said he ensured time is set aside for him, to continue a healthy relationship with his God. He said he needs Sundays to worship with others like him for a sanity break.
Since his time as a little boy, he remembered going to church to worship with his mother. It carried over to when he first left home, when he joined the Marines. He recalled his deployment overseas, gathering in a circle with other Marines and a chaplain, by their parked Humvees for church service or just for short prayer.
“It’s engrained in me,” he said. “I pray when I’m walking to class and not just on test days.”
Seemingly relieved, Justin Thurm begins to fill his backpack, to head back to his residence. When asked about his tattoos, he raised his sleeve. He points to a ship on rough waves on his bicep. A partial, colored-in, light-black cloud hovers above the ship. To the left of the ship is Jesus on the cross, which wraps around to his tricep. He points out, Jesus faces the ship.
“I’m a communication major and you’re a journalism major,” he said. “We’re going on different paths to get to our goal, but we both want the same thing- a degree. We may run into some obstacles and it may get rough, but in order to get there, the journey is inevitable. This is my reminder”
He points to his tattoo, flashed his million dollar smile, and turns both palms upwards.
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