Serving Up a Popular Brew of Conviviality, Spirituality

As candlelight cast a lounge-like glow, college students on a recent Thursday night filled their cups from an icy keg of beer and chewed over peanuts, pretzels -- and God.

It may not be the traditional model for an informed theological discourse. But organizers of “Theology on Tap” at USC say the setting allows students to socialize and debate the merits of such topics as the Apostle Paul’s teachings on sexual morality or the place alcohol has in modern Christian life.

“Keggers are a college icon,” said the Rev. Glenn Libby, the university’s Episcopal chaplain and one of the event’s main orchestrators. “We wanted to take something that is a very common college experience but bring it into a Christian framework.”

Soft drinks were available for students younger than 21, although no one was checking identification by the keg during the evening at the campus Catholic Center. For 19-year-old Danielle Thomson, the self-policing seemed like a token of good faith.

“It’s refreshing that they trust us to make the right decision,” said Thomson, who sipped cola during the discussion. “It’s about taking responsibility for your own actions.”

The monthly gathering, which has attracted anywhere from a dozen to 85 people since it began earlier this school year, is sponsored jointly by the university’s Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Episcopal ministries. Students of all faiths are welcome.

“An atheist would feel right at home here,” said 22-year-old Brijesh Pinto, a Catholic graduate student studying economics. “You could come here and say, ‘I don’t believe in God,’ and no one will stare at you.”

Similar gatherings, including some without alcohol, are held at many other campuses and Catholic churches in California and around the country.

The idea was spun from a concept developed by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago almost a quarter century ago as a way to connect with parishioners in their 20s and 30s. More than 500 parishes and organizations in Rome, Hong Kong and cities across the U.S. have adopted similar programs, according to the Chicago Archdiocese, which has copyrighted “Theology on Tap.”

Discussion topics vary but tend to include hot-button issues such as stem-cell research and abortion. An evening at USC devoted to issues of sexuality and ethics drew the largest crowd of the year, Libby said.

“The structure we were presenting was not to encourage premarital sex, but to teach people the questions that a Christian has to ask about a sexual encounter,” he said.

This month’s discussion featured Catholic Center members Ryan Killeen, a 21-year-old senior and kicker on the USC football team, and Joe Boskovich, a former player on the team who graduated in 2003. Titled “Spirituality and Athletics,” the discussion touched on such topics as whether it was appropriate to publicly thank God for a touchdown.

“There are guys who think God is on their side,” said Killeen jokingly, referring to players who celebrate in the end zone by pointing to heaven.

The students also talked about morality and personal conduct for athletes and others.

“It’s easy to fall into the traps of college life: the drinking, the sex,” Boskovich said. “I’m not gonna say I’m Mother Teresa, but [faith] has been a factor in how I conduct myself.”

Away from college campuses, similar discussions are held to attract Catholics who veer from religion in their 20s and 30s, said Ana Grande, who helps organize a four-night “Theology on Tap” series in the summer for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ Ministry With Young Adults. Those gatherings usually attract 50 to 200 people to fashionable hangouts such as Cafe Club Fais Do-Do or church halls.

“In order to have them tomorrow, we needed them yesterday,” Grande said of the young people. She is also planning “Tacos y Teologia,” a bilingual version.

When Tommy Zapata, 28, first attended “Theology on Tap” about three years ago, he really wasn’t seeking out God. He enjoyed the event and the relaxed environment.

“It’s not strict, so you’re comfortable,” said Zapata, a product specialist for a software company who went to every discussion last summer. “It doesn’t feel so much like a church function.”

Topics have included “Was There a Mrs. Jesus? Cracking ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and Other Conspiracies” and “Relationships and Sex and the City of God.” Discussions are led by priests, psychologists and sociologists, said Dennis Young, 36, who helped organize the event for the San Fernando Valley region.

“We took a line out of the New Testament. It was St. Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. He said, ‘It is good for a man not to touch a woman (1 Corinthians 7:1).’ We, of course, asked, ‘Was St. Paul nuts?’ That drew a huge number of people,” Young said.

The archdiocese’s version tends to attract people in their late 20s or early 30s, including some who are surprised by the nontraditional setting.

“Their image of the Catholic Church is that of a stuffy old organization filled with blue-haired church ladies,” Young said.

The overall response of host parishioners has been positive, he said, though some have expressed concern that alcohol is served at church events.

“The reason we serve alcohol is because we have to break a couple of stereotypes,” he said. “Just the mere fact that it’s here says [to people], ‘The church trusts me and they think of me as an adult.’ ”

However, worries about alcohol on college campuses led to a “dry” version of “Theology on Tap” titled “Pizza and Theology” at the University Catholic Center at UCLA, said Father Pat Hensy, associate director of the facility. Mount St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles has “Cookies and Catholicism.”

At USC, “Theology on Tap” organizers were so concerned about student abuse of alcohol that they focused the program’s premiere night on alcohol and Christianity even while serving beer.

“We talked about the use and abuse of alcohol and where to find it in the Scriptures. I don’t know how you reach the conclusion that alcohol is bad or sinful. In Scripture, the only references to alcohol as negative are about alcohol in excess and when it is connected to non-Jewish ritual,” said Father William Messenger, a Catholic priest who is a founder of the USC program along with Libby, the Episcopal chaplain, and the Rev. Tita Valeriano, a Lutheran.

Libby added: “We didn’t think that totally taking a stand of abstinence would be the most effective thing. We’ve migrated to teaching responsible use of alcohol. We wanted to sort of model more responsible behavior.”

Thursday nights are also popular for parties at fraternity houses several blocks from the Catholic Center, graduate student Pinto noted.

“If you just want to drink, you don’t have to be here,” he said. “Alcohol is cheap and freely accessible.”