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In the realm of the nones: Reflections of a college chaplain

A few years ago a student at my college was referred to me for counseling because he was getting in a bit of trouble. Jeff was drinking too much and making some poor decisions. This behavior was out of character for him, and his professors thought it had something to do with the fact that his mother was dying of cancer.

When he sat down in my office, the first thing Jeff wanted to tell me was that he was “not very religious.” He wasn’t raised in the church, he said. He didn’t know what he believed about God.

I couldn’t keep myself from wondering why Jeff wanted to talk to me. If he’s not religious, why didn’t he make an appointment with our college’s counselor?