RELIGIOUS CHIC

There's a not-bad article by Neil Swidey in the Boston Globe on religion in the Ivy League. But one wonders about it all when you read quotes like this:

"It's very chic to be a believer now," says Gomes. "In a place which is so dispassionate, so rational, and in many ways so conformist intellectually, if you want to break out of the pack, you say your prayers in public. It is the example of religious practice elsewhere that has emboldened American evangelicals to exercise their own practice."

Yes, public prayer as 'chic'. Just ask Daniel

And not only can you be a 'chic' Christian. You can also be 'educated':

But [Curtis] Chang says the incident exposes much bigger stakes, with the viability of what he calls "educated evangelicals" hanging in the balance. A native of Taiwan and 1990 graduate of Harvard, Chang says educated evangelicals feel at home in the university world and want to be considered full members. So they're quick to distance themselves from Bible-thumping, anti-intellectual fundamentalists. Instead, educated evangelicals stress their more progressive politics and nuanced theology.

Oh, to be chic and educated, too. If only I could have been a Christian in the Ivy League. Alas.

[Article via Instapundit via IM with Susanna]