FITCHBURG YOUR STORY: More Than a Sunday - Jaleel Jackson

In this episode, we examine the diverse religious life outside of traditional Christianity with a particular emphasis on the voices, customs, and narratives influencing places like Fitchburg.

Written and narrated by Jaleel Jackson, a junior Business Administration major with a concentration in Management, "More Than a Sunday" is the next episode in the Fitchburg Your Story series.

Episodes in this series were produced and edited by the Fitchburg State University students in Professor Kisha Tracy's Storytelling and the Oral Tradition course (ENGL 2890) in the Spring 2025 semester.  

"Saxifrage"  is the Fitchburg Your Story theme music.  Music by Prof. Robin Dinda, Text by Prof. DeMisty Bellinger-Delfeld.  Performed by Fitchburg State University Choirs with Alanna Rantala (piano) and Prof. Jonathan Harvey (conductor).

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Episode transcript here.

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Additional mixing and mastering by members of the Perseverantia staff.

Click here to learn more about Perseverantia. Join us for programming updates on Instagram. Or reach out with ideas or suggestions at podcasts@fitchburgstate.edu.

Transcript

[ “Saxifrage” choral music plays, performed by the Fitchburg State University Choirs ] 

Prof. Kisha Tracy (intro): Welcome to the Fitchburg State University Perseverantia Podcast network. This is the Fitchburg Your Story series in which Fitchburg State students tell the stories that make our city and university unique.

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Jaleel Jackson: Welcome. My name is Jaleel Jackson. This is the “More Than a Sunday” Religion in a Diverse Fitchburg” where we examine the diverse religious life outside Christianity with a particular emphasis on the voices, customs, and narratives influencing places like Fitchburg, Mass. As your host, I'm going to go deeply into the representation, preservation, and development of religions other than Christianity, especially in the Fitchburg area and at  Fitchburg State University.

We'll look at the significance of these tales, how the past shapes the present, and the opportunities and problems that lie ahead. I'll include viewpoints from academics and authors who have examined American religion in both historical and modern contexts as I go along.

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A need for representation. 

Christianity frequently comes to mind when we think of religion in tiny American towns, particularly in New England with its staples, Sunday services, and holiday customs. What occurs though if we look past that?

In a community like Fitchburg, where foreign students, immigrant communities, and historically marginalized groups are forming a new heterogeneous spiritual landscape, what does faith look like?

For example, students from many ethnic and religious backgrounds interact on a daily basis at Fitchburg State. The institution actively promotes secular and interfaith identities as well as Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism. Even it supports Christian organizations. However, representation is not always the same as visibility. These identities are occasionally marginalized.

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Taking a step back to examine a more general issue with religious engagement, today's youth relate and also don't relate to religious identities. The article “What is the Greatest Challenge Facing Religious Education Problems for Children?" from America Magazine, offers a fascinating conversation. According to the article, the most difficult task is making relevant to children's everyday lives rather than only teaching theology. This observation is applicable to all religious traditions.

Children sometimes grow up juggling many identities, ethnic, religious, and national, especially in a heterogeneous setting like Fitchburg. Faith is abandoned if it has no bearing on their lived experiences.

Because of this, representation is not merely symbolic. It is necessary to keep faith traditions alive for future generations.

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However, many groups maintain their religious identity throughout time, particularly in areas where they are marginalized. We turn to the past especially early American Jewish life to investigate more specifically. The 2015 article, "How it will end, the blessed God knows" by Michael Hoberman, an American Jewish history offers an intriguing look into Jewish correspondence during the time of the Revolutionary War. Respected New English Jewish history expert, Hoberman examines letters that demonstrate Jewish Americans attempt to preserve their religious and cultural identity in a predominantly Christian culture. "How it will end, the blessed God knows" is a reflection from a Jewish writer of the time expressing both hope and anxiety. 

Many minority faith communities now face similar emotional complexity. They manage outside forces such as assimilation and misinterpretation while maintaining said traditions. This historical viewpoint aids in our understanding of Fitchburg's current religious minority who frequently strikes a balance between the necessity to adapt and a strong desire to maintain ties to their ancestral faiths.

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Like many other public institutions, Fitchburg State University is essential to others in changing or strengthening these processes. An essential component is added here by Mark J. Drozdowski in his piece, "Homecoming," which was published in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Drozdowski examines the emotional and cultural conflicts that arise when kids leave home for college, a period where many reevaluate who they are. Even if he does not specifically address religion, he describes how pupils are drifting towards something unknown while tethered to something known. Religious discovery frequently begins in the transitional area between home and new visitations. The faith of their upbringing may be questioned, rejected, reinterpreted, or returned by students. Universities must make room for these individuals in this situation, particularly for students from underrepresented religious backgrounds. 

Institutions like Fitchburg State have the power to either help students strengthen their ties to their faith or completely abandon it due to the creation of interfaith spaces. Support for student religious organizations and integration of multiple religious perspectives into courses.

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Looking at the local landscape and today's Fitchburg, the religious landscape of the hometown has become increasingly varied throughout time. Even though Christianity is still the most common religion, Hindu, Judaism, Muslim, Buddhist, and indigenous spiritual practices are becoming more well-known, partly because of Fitchburg State immigrant and international student populations.

Institutional understanding of these needs is demonstrated by the initiatives like the new prayer and meditation room on campus, the presence of interfaith organizations like Focus on Faith, and campus celebrations of Diwali. But there are still difficulties. There is still little interfaith discussion, and many students say they believe their customs are ignored or misinterpreted. A more inclusive spiritual environment could be achieved in large part by increased public acknowledgement as well as inclusion and awareness of non-Christian holidays and customs.

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What is the lesson?

There is more to faith than what meets the eye. Education, location, history, and culture all influence it. Religious identity is a component of a larger discussion about belonging in a community like Fitchburg, which has working class roots and rapidly changing demographic.

One thing is clear from sources like Drozdowski’s thoughts on students' identity changes, America Magazine's article on giving religious significance to kids, and Hoberman's in-depth analysis of historical Jewish resiliency: representation counts. Furthermore, it is essential for respect, significance, and survival, not simply symbolically.

Religious diversity must be discussed in Fitchburg in order to continue and develop as an inclusive community. We need to listen across prayer mats, across traditions.

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I appreciate you for listening to “More than Sunday: Religion in a Diverse Fitchburg.” Continue to inquire, continue to explore, and above all, continue to listen. Til next time.

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Zoe Christostomides: You’re listening to Perseverantia, the Fitchburg State Podcast Network.

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