The Multifaith Campus Ministry is sponsoring the fifth annual Faith Fair on Feb. 16. The
fair will be held in the Library NW Loggia from 1–3 p.m. This is the first Faith Fair in-person
after two years of being virtual. The event is often described as a “buffet of religions”.
Students can walk around to booths dedicated to different religions and learn more about them. Religions featured include well-known ones like Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism. There will also be
lesser-known religions represented such as Paganism, Sikh and Wiccan along with many more.
Attendants need not worry about being influenced to join or change their religion. The
goal of this event is not to convert those in attendance to a religion, but to inform and educate.
“It’s about educating all the different ways there are to be religious,” said Amanda
Hayden, one of the event planners. “All the different resources out there and all the different
ways of worshipping that people may not even be of.”
People interested in these religions do not need to travel far. There are local synagogues,
temples or churches in the area that people can find through the Faith Fair if they wish to
worship. This event also works to eliminate religious stereotypes.
“People might say, ‘I thought Pagans had black hair and, you know, cast spells and did
this,’” said Hayden. “And then they’ll talk to the Pagans and realize one looks like their neighbor
or aunt and they’re like, ‘Oh, you don’t look anything like the stereotype.’”
Related article: Keeping the Faith: A History of Campus Minsitry
This allows attendants to gain knowledge about different religions from people that
practice them. It also gives them a chance to learn about these religions without bias from the
media and people who do not practice it.
It is rare that people from numerous religions are gathered peacefully in an environment
talking about their religious identities. It is a safe space for open conversations and for students
and staff to openly ask questions without being shut down.
The Faith Fair can give students and staff an opportunity to learn new information that
they cannot get from books, TV, movies or even class. Not only that, but it also gives them a
chance to bond with a diverse set of Sinclair students over a topic they may have never touched
before.
Marissa Collier
Reporter