By Rory Dulock | Staff Writer
Baylor is most likely first and foremost known for being a Christian university — and with that comes the pressure of following Christian ideas and including religious education in its curriculum. While I think it is great for Baylor to maintain its religious traditions, I think the Chapel requirement should no longer be included in its core curriculum.
Baylor already requires students to take two religion courses — Christian Scriptures and Christian Heritage — so I do not believe it is necessary to require students to take two Chapels as well. At least with the religion courses, students receive credit hours, while Chapel does not count for any credit hours at all.
By eliminating the Chapel requirement, students could focus more on the religion courses that actually count as credit. However, if the university is really determined to include Chapel as part of its core curriculum, it should at least make it count as credit. Students are, after all, paying for classes that count toward credit hours for a degree — not paying for courses that do not count toward a degree.
Another issue I have with the Chapel requirement is its lack of options that properly align with each student’s schedule. While Baylor does offer a variety of Chapels, when it comes down to creating a schedule, it’s hard for a full-time college student to fit it in. Personally, I was not able to get in the Chapel I wanted due to limited space, so I ended up being in a Chapel that occurs during my busiest day of the week, which has put a lot of stress on me. I do believe that Baylor accommodates students of a variety of religions the best it can, but it is still difficult to accommodate everybody.
Eliminating the Chapel requirement would mean students do not have to worry about making it to their Chapel course at a random time during the week, and it would allow them to use that extra time to their advantage. For students who have a religious background not covered by the Chapels that Baylor offers, it would save them the discomfort and unfamiliarity of being put into a Chapel course that means nothing to them.
Again, if Baylor wants to continue the Chapel requirement, it should work on making accommodations for a variety of schedules and religions. While I think it would be in the best interest of the university to eliminate the requirement, perhaps it could be made better for students with some alterations.
