Anushka Dixit, a sophomore at Emerson College, has spent much of her life grappling with faith. Raised in a Hindu household, Dixit’s connection to religion was shaped by familial rituals and visits to her family's hometown in Uttar Pradesh, India. As she grew older, however, she began questioning the role of religion in her life.
Many young Americans are reevaluating traditional religious institutions, with many turning to personal spirituality or disaffiliation. According to the Public Religious Research Institute, 36% of Americans aged 18-29 identify as religiously unaffiliated. Similarly, SAPIR Journal found that 36% of college students had no religious affiliation in 2023, compared to just 7% in 1966. However, this shift doesn’t necessarily mean abandoning faith altogether. Many, like Dixit, are learning to redefine it.
Her faith began to falter in 2018 after the Parkland Shooting. “I thought, there’s no way there’s a God if this is happening,” she said. Entering high school, Dixit’s struggles with depression and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) further strained her belief. She also grew increasingly aware of issues within Hinduism, particularly the rise of right-wing Hindu nationalism in India. “I just don't agree with that side,” she stressed.
For Dixit, the weaponization of religion has been a significant deterrent. She said, "The line kind of gets blurred when it becomes, I'm going to tell you what to do because it's my religion." This sentiment is echoed by many in Gen Z. According to Religion Dispatches, 60% of respondents cited disagreements with religious messages, and 55% felt unable to be authentic in religious spaces. Dixit acknowledged, "I feel like there has become this rise of faith is something that is so easily weaponized, and I think the reason that people my age are, at least, why I have dealt with losing faith is because of that."
It wasn’t until college that Dixit began redefining faith for herself. “I let it get weaponized from me for so long [...] My realization was that I don't need to fit into a hateful mold of what it seems are the downsides of it,” she reflected. She has also discovered that instead of focusing on rituals or divine intervention, she views religion as a tool for self-growth. "[It's] less of a dependency on manifestation and 'please God give me this,' and more so of how I can change my mindset to deal with the challenges of my life," she explained.
Balancing faith with college life remains challenging. Between classes and finals, Dixit struggles to dedicate as much time as she wants to religious activities like visiting temples or learning Hindi. “It's inherent to my intersectionality, and it's, you know, something that I want to learn, but also, I have classes, right?” she said.
She also wrestles with reconciling traditional values with her lifestyle. "Sometimes when I'm high, or I drink and stuff, or when I have boyfriends, I just feel this weird, you should be ashamed,” she admitted.
Despite these struggles, Dixit’s desire to learn about her culture keeps her engaged with faith. “I'm really excited to learn, to gain more knowledge and old things, new things, things about my religion, things about other religions; there's just an openness to learning,” she said. For Dixit, navigating faith in college is less about fitting into a mold and more about carving her own path.