Shocking Admission by Christian College Student Body President: "I'm an atheist"

Aimee Herd : Nov 8, 2013
Billy Hallowell – TheBlaze.com, Register-Guard

He calls on his Christian peers to be less judgmental.

(Eugene, OR)—Fellow students at Northwest Christian University (NCU) in Eugene, Oregon may have been shocked by what their student body president, Eric Fromm disclosed in an op-ed he wrote in the online Beacon Bolt recently. (Brian Davies/The Register-Guard)

"My name is Eric Fromm," he wrote, titling the piece "Lifting the Curtain."

"I am a senior at NCU majoring in communications, and I am an atheist," said Fromm in the op-ed. "Yes, you read that correctly, I am an atheist. For those of you who didn't already know about my nonbelief, this news may be a bit shocking, but I was an atheist long before I came to NCU."

Fromm explained that he had decided to attend the well-known Christian university because of the quality of their communications program.

He described checking out the college's chapel services to make sure he'd be "comfortable enough" that he'd be able to "fulfill the requirement" to attend them.

He added that he had often found himself wanting to "be a part of the excitement and energy" but that he could not "force belief in God upon himself," according to The Blaze report.

Part of Fromm's disclosure was to bring to attention some of the treatment by Christians once they found out about his unbelief.

"When people found out that I was an atheist, they started treating me differently," Fromm said. "Sometimes they would verbally attack me, sometimes they would give me the cold shoulder, and sometimes they just gave me dirty looks."

However, NCU's vice president for enrollment and student development, Michael Fuller, noted in an interview with the Register Guard that he had known about the student's atheism for years, and that it didn't make him question his becoming student body president.

"He's a man of very high character and respect," said Fuller. "He's a great advocate for our student body, which is exactly what he's supposed to be and do."

"I want students like Eric here…students who are looking to explore their faith and willing to look hard and make their faith their own," Fuller continued.

"If we all had our wishes, we wish Eric would be a strong Christian man," But at the same time, Fuller added, "We're an open and welcome community, and we meet students exactly where they're at."