Can your faith withstand peer pressure?

Which will win the battle is dependant on how individuals choose to react to peer pressure and the opportunities that society offers them.

With the combination of different religions, peer pressure and desire for a sense of belonging, a negative attitude can be conjured up on campus. This attitude can cause discrimination, verbal and even physical abuse. I think a lot of conflict between different faiths is due to the lack of understanding and also a sense of ignorance.

A sense of suspicion and curiosity is easy to get. What seems vital is that students must be able to take this sense and transform it into a positive drive for unity amongst differences.

This positive drive should allow students to take the time to understand and talk to one another about their different ways of life. They will realise that actually we are all the same but choose to live our lives in different ways and hopefully this will open their eyes to a new exciting way of treating the unknown.

Students should be enabled to battle against peer pressure and find other ways of bonding with friends rather than being forced into something they feel uncomfortable doing.

Most of the conflict and tension that students face today is based around the difficulty of trying to ‘fit in’. This concept of feeling wanted and secure in your own clique appeals to most. However, the battle to become part of a clique and the formation of separate social groups is determined by student’s worst enemies. The enemies I refer to that are to be discussed are drinking and appearance. The running theme that interlinks these aspects of the life of a student is that of peer pressure. It is how students choose to respond to peer pressure that forms separation in a community.

At a University, the majority of students will be legally allowed to drink alcohol according to the legal drinking age in the UK. For most students, alcohol is a way of feeling more relaxed and at ease with friends. However, amongst the students there are bound to be those who feel uncomfortable drinking, whether it is for personal or religious reasons. Understandably, these people may feel left out or on the contrary proud of how they behave. Whatever the reason, these students automatically have a distinction from those who are consuming alcohol. This difference is in no way negative, and this concept is what some students and adults need to grasp.

Islamic principles and those of some other faiths restrict followers to consume alcohol. Students who feel they want to respect and uphold these principles will obviously not drink and so in these cases in relation to the battle, religion is victorious. However, with increasing peer pressure that student communities are confronted with makes this simple decision seem much harder that it needs to be.

The fact that students may be teased or discriminated against for upholding religious principles is unacceptable, and anybody’s way of life should be treated with equal respect and honour. But for those who are overwhelmed, choose to conform to society and loosen their religious beliefs allow peer pressure to take the lead.

Those who again wish to uphold religious beliefs may feel obligated to present themselves in a different way to how others do. In Islam and many other faiths, appropriate and modest dress is a focal point for those who believe in this religion, especially women. Women who wear Hijabs will therefore be proudly supporting religion over peer pressure. Amongst female students, where competition and judging of others is raging, this may again have an effect of separating women from others in the community of the campus. Therefore, some women may dislike feeling different from how other students dress and so may change their dress code as a result of embarrassment or fear. This attitude supports peer pressure.

Armed with a better understanding of different reactions to what students are confronted with, both students and adults must try to understand and embrace other people’s way of life. If little progress is made, religious principles could be defeated by the desire for social status.