'God in America' screening draws UNC students on First Amendment Day

Students of many different religions came to the Student Union on Thursday to celebrate and discuss their religious rights.

They were drawn primarily by a preview of a new PBS documentary, “God In America,” as well as a student panel.

The film screening and discussion were part of First Amendment Day, an annual event organized by the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy.

“God In America” was co-produced by 2002 UNC graduate Callie Wiser, who said she hopes students will take away a greater appreciation for how religion has shaped America and its people.

“I think the series is very successful at showing how people feel religion and how people feel non-religion, and hopefully people will realize that you need both sides,” Wiser said.

Cathy Packer, a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said religious freedom was not included in First Amendment Day last year because of time constraints, but she felt like it should be incorporated this year.

“What I try to do is find programming that both speaks to students and allows students to speak,” Packer said.

Three students of different religions answered questions about their beliefs and experiences as UNC students and American citizens. They agreed that although UNC is predominantly Christian, they each feel comfortable practicing their respective religions.

“The way that UNC students are is just that it’s not in their nature to be blatant about it or to be annoyingly aggressive about their disagreement,” said Relwan Onikoyi, a senior philosophy major who spoke for the Muslim Students Association.

Dana DePietro, a senior peace, war and defense and Asian studies double major, represented Hillel, a Jewish student organization.

“I think that most people on campus are wanting to learn,” DePietro said. “There’s definitely ignorance but that’s definitely not necessarily a lack of wanting to learn.”

Stephen Estes, a senior political science major who represented the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, said he believes that discussion is necessary in a country of mixed religious beliefs.

“We do need to have this dialogue as to what set of moral values we can agree on and move together,” he said.

DePietro said it is difficult to observe some Jewish holidays because the UNC calendar mostly observes Christian holidays. But overall, she said UNC is a fairly welcoming place.

“I think that there’s probably pressures from the dominant culture but I don’t think that they’re so overwhelming that they stop people from expressing their religious beliefs,” she said.

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.