By Madison Hunt | Staff Writer
As finals loom larger by the day and each study session becomes more essential, spiritual life leaders say staying grounded in faith means choosing presence over panic.
During this time, students are obsessed with grading metrics, but religion offers a different compass — purpose, belonging and a steady peace that anchors students when outcomes feel uncertain.
Dr. Devan Stahl, associate professor of bioethics and religion, gave insight into how students who choose to participate in faith can reconcile intellectual reasoning with theology. Stahl said every inquiry that students have is directly correlated with God.
“Our faith in God is the starting point rather than the end point of our knowledge,” Stahl said. “We use our reason to illuminate our faith. And because God created everything, there is no academic discipline that cannot help us to better understand God.”
Associate Professor of Religion Dr. Sameer Yadav said it is extremely important for students to ask questions that challenge their faith in an academic setting.
“The whole point of difficult questions and critical thinking, it seems to me, is to take some responsibility for our faith, to hold ourselves accountable to reality as best we are able so that we can cling to what is true and beneficial and reject what is illusory and harmful,” Yadav said.
Baylor operates with a Christian mission, allowing students to fully embrace their faith without judgment. The role of a Christian university is to support students’ academic and spiritual growth, Stahl said.
“At Baylor, there is no need to hide or shed your religious beliefs to engage in academic study,” Stahl said. “That is a real gift that Baylor offers to students. Professors may not start every class with their faith beliefs, but students can be assured that all their teachers are faithful people who do their work for the enrichment of both Baylor and their faith communities.”
Stahl explained that faith beyond the classroom is a crucial part of a student’s journey through Baylor. Not only will students experience temptation and doubt in day-to-day life, but their time at Baylor will eventually end, leading them on to new adventures that will inevitably present challenges of their own, she said.
“Keep going to church,” Stahl said. “There are many access points to spiritual life on Baylor’s campus that students can and should take advantage of, but don’t forget that church should be the central place for living out our faith and nourishing ourselves for our work in the world.”
Although it can be difficult in any busy season, Orange sophomore and Antioch life group leader Camille Kelly said she often catches up with her to-do list but falls out of spending consistent time with Jesus.
“However, I’ve also found that what gets me through finals is relying on God, which in turn can strengthen my faith,” Kelly said.
From coping strategies to a relationship and from striving to surrender — these things shape the next chapter of students’ faith journey. Dr. Charley Ramsey, dean of Spiritual Life, said during his junior year of college, he experienced clarity of his relationship with Jesus.
“I felt like somebody took a bucket of like warm oil or warm water and just poured it over me, and I just had this incredible experience at peace, the presence of God,” Ramsey said. “I wondered if this feeling last forever — and it began this transformative journey in my life.”
Yadav said maintaining a connection with God is important to staying connected to one’s faith.
“Maintaining a strong spiritual life in the midst of all of these different and demanding activities requires students to regard them all as spiritual activities — as avenues for loving God with all that one is and loving one’s neighbor as oneself,” Yadav said.
