The link between Greek membership and social conservatism

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by summer_gphib

I think there is truth to that, but I also think that sororities and fraternities are steeped in tradition. That tradition has appeal to those who are more unwilling to embrace new ideas.

Or, perhaps, they are people who are open to embracing new ideas, but unwilling in the process to ignore or lose the wisdom of those who have gone before.

Originally Posted by AlethiaSi

. . . but there is actually a rule in our consititution that forbade anyone from discussing politics or religion in the house (obvi we didn't always follow this, but the rule made sense and we tried to as best we could)

Originally Posted by Dionysus

The "no discussion of politics/religion" rule is a good idea...if people cannot be civil.

I would have been very uncomfortable with and put off by a rule like this. What kind of brotherhood could I experience in my fraternity if I was forbidden or discouraged from discussing the values -- spiritual and political -- that matter to me and that are an intrinsic part of who I am? To me this seems like a cop-out that deprives members of one of the lessons I value from my fraternity experience -- learning that I can still honestly call someone "brother" when we have different views.