Admission
A Community of Cultures
Religion at Reed
Reed College came into being because Amanda Reed decided to establish an "institution of learning" in memory of her husband, Simeon G. Reed. Though the first Chairman of the Board of that institution was Thomas Lamb Eliot, who had been her Unitarian pastor, Amanda Reed's will directs that the Institute "forever be and remain free from sectarian influence, regulation or control, permitting those who may seek its benefits to affiliate with such religious societies as their consciences may dictate."
The Reed College of today remains a place in which students (and faculty and staff) work together without reference to individual religious beliefs or non-beliefs. In this non-sectarian environment, however, a great variety of belief and practice can be found. Of students entering in the Fall of 2006, 33% expressed a religious preference-"Baptist, Buddhist, Church of Christ . . . Eastern Orthodox . . . Episcopalian . . . Hindu . . . Jewish . . .LDS . . . Muslim . . . Roman Catholic. . . Seventh-Day Adventist"-while 67% expressed no preference. (Of the parents of this cohort, 44% expressed a preference, 56% expressed none.)
In keeping with Amanda Reed's desire that individuals may affiliate with such religious societies as their consciences may dictate, one can find such student organizations as "O for Christ's Sake," "Chaverim," "The Zen Meditation Group," and the "Reed Secular Alliance." And like other metropolitan areas, Portland offers a vast array of synagogues, mosques, churches, meeting houses, and other gathering places (traditional and non-traditional).
View more pages:
Jewish life at Reed
A history of the religion department
More questions?
Email Avigail Hurvitz-Prinz '05, assistant dean of admission, at avigail@reed.edu.