According to The Washington Times, 84 percent of the world’s population is religious, and up until my sophomore year in college, I was no exception. I was born into the Druze religion, flirted with Christianity for a year, and then realized none of it was for me. However, when I went to college, I mistakenly joined another institution: a sorority. After analyzing the downfalls of a sorority, it became obvious that these two institutions had similar flaws in their structure.
Greek Life has been compared to many things, but religion may just be Greek Life's older cousin. Although there are obvious differences between the two entities, the fundamental aspects that dictate their nature are essentially the same. In fact, there are countless parallels that may make an individual look at Greek life and even religion in a whole new perspective. Below I have listed only the three main ones.
To better illustrate this point, the comparison will be done using the dominating religion in not only the South, but America in general: Christianity. In regards to Greek Life, a unspecified sorority will be used.
1. They both promote segregation.
An individual may be skeptical of this point because it is clear that Christians do not solely hang out with other Christians, and sorority members do not exclusively see each other. However, segregation is still instilled, if not encouraged both in religions and sororities. This is not only because the members find common ground with other members. This is also due to the fact that, after joining a religion or sorority, all other religions and sororities are then seen as different, inferior or just wrong.
For example, if I were Christian, I would not believe that the Islam religion is the one true religion and would therefore classify it as inferior. This mentality is called religious exclusivism.
According to the New World Encyclopedia, "in its more extreme form, religious exclusivism teaches that only the members of one religion or sect will reach Heaven, while others will be doomed to eternal damnation."
Even if a sorority or religion claims to abstain from this mentality, the fact of the matter is that religions and sororities categorize individuals into different groups:. Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, Delta Phi Epsilon, Phi Mu, Kappa Delta. This categorization alone sends the message that humans are no longer just humans. They are different. All humans are different, though, so this is no new concept. However, when an institution like religion or Greek Life becomes such a prevalent and dominating aspect of an individual's life, like they usually do, the segregation it implements may be as dividing as a language barrier.
2. They preach love, but do not always act in love.
Greek unity is always promoted in Greek Life. Love for everyone despite their religious orientation or sin is always preached. Yet, their actions usually do not parallel with these beliefs.
In regards to sororities, Greek unity can be shown through joining the Panhellenic board, becoming a Pi Chi (recruitment counselor) or simply hanging out with members from other sororities and fraternities. All of these actions do occur, and Greek unity is spread. However, this effort then becomes counterproductive when sorority members write hateful comments toward other sororities on their private social media page, put other sororities down during competitions and, overall, preach the "fact" that they are better than all other sororities.
When I was in a sorority, this was a frequent occurrence. The occurrence that stuck out the most to me was when a member of one sorority attacked a member of a different sorority on a private Facebook page. The attack was simply because another sorority used the same term in reference to the new members of their sorority. New sorority members cannot be called sisters until they are initiated, so instead, they are given cutesy pet names. This one particular member who posted the attack was enraged and absolutely dumbfounded at the fact that they were using the same term for their new members. This is a small and petty offense, so you can only imagine their responses for much larger incidents.
Religion is guilty of this as well. Christianity and other religions preach that you should love everyone. However, religion has been used time and time again to rationalize hate toward others. A popular example is with homosexuality. Leviticus 18:22 states that homosexuality is an abomination, so this has been used by Christians to rationalize opposition toward homosexuality. Christianity also used Bible scripture to justify slavery. For example, Titus 2:9 says, “Tell slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect." As of now, a good number of Christians are actually for homosexual rights, and in my own opinion, I believe it is safe to say that very few, if any, still support slavery. However, it is not uncommon for Christians to use Bible scripture against issues they do not agree with. This was shown all across social media during the revelation of Caitlyn Jenner.
In my personal opinion, I do not actually believe that religious people or sorority girls are hateful people. I believe the institutions they are in simply create this reaction.
3. Their love is certainly conditional.
Both institutes give the impression that, once you are part of them, you will be given eternal sisterhood in sororities or God's love in religion. In sororities, they let an individual know that you can always come to your sisters for help, advice and kindness. In fact, the phrase “It’s not four years; it’s for life” is commonly used and can be interpreted to say that their bond is long-lasting. In religion, they give a similar message. They send the message that God loves an individual unconditionally no matter what sin he or she has committed.
In the book "The God Virus," author Darrell Ray gives an example of this mixed message by pointing out that "God loves you, but he will send you to hell if you don't do exactly as he says." This is shown through Revelation 21:8: "As for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
As for sororities, the condition is pretty simple: Pay your dues or the love and sisterhood is no longer yours. The sorority may feel like a friendship, but paying dues is one of the aspects that separates the two entities. This request of payment is not hidden, however, since the members are made aware of it upfront. Nonetheless, the financial undertone of the sorority may make the organization seem a bit disingenuous. Conditional love can leave an individual unfulfilled and wanting more.
This is not to say that there are no positive aspects in a sorority or religion. I was in a sorority for almost three years before leaving because I enjoyed the sense of community, the events and the charitable organizations they helped. As for religion, although I feel like I do not need it, I do understand that it gives comfort and hope to many individuals.
