The “Holy War” is coming. The University of Utah Utes will play the Brigham Young University Cougars on Nov. 24 at Rice-Eccles Stadium in the latest installment in the rivalry between the two schools. According to Winsipedia, the rival schools have been playing regularly since 1892 and the U has consistently dominated, winning 57 games to BYU’s 31. ESPN’s Matchup Predictor shows that the U will more than likely continue their win streak with an estimated 88.4 percent likelihood of victory. This longstanding series of football match-ups is the most obvious manifestation of the Holy War, but the rivalry between the U and BYU extends beyond football into the very identities of the two schools. Religion is often the dividing line between the two schools and is the reason for the otherwise normal college football rivalry being dubbed the “Holy War.” Religion, or the lack thereof, strongly impacts the academics and cultures of the two schools. These differences sometimes lead Utah fans to vilify BYU and to set the U on an athletic and moral pedestal. There are a lot of differences between the two schools, and that’s okay. We shouldn’t denigrate our rival — rather, we should celebrate our differences and recognize that both schools are right for different students.
Religion
If you stopped a random Utahn on the street and asked them to name the biggest difference between the U and BYU, their answer would probably be religion. BYU is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and in 2014, 98.7 percent of students at BYU identified as members of the LDS Church. Unlike other church-owned universities like Georgetown, which downplays their religious affiliation, BYU wears its religious heart on its sleeve. According to the BYU “Missions & Aims” webpage, “the mission of Brigham Young University — founded, supported, and guided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — is to assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life. That assistance should provide a period of intensive learning in a stimulating setting where a commitment to excellence is expected and the full realization of human potential is pursued.” This mission extends into every part of the student experience at BYU, from the classes students take to grooming habits and to one’s expression of personal sexuality.
The U is incredibly secular in comparison to BYU. It is a state-funded school that is not officially affiliated with any religious congregation. While the U is not as obviously religious as BYU, however, the story of religion at the U isn’t as simple as “BYU is religious and we aren’t.” The U does not publish the religious demographics of the student body, but there are a few key indicators that the U is more religious than many believe. According to a representative from the LDS Institute of Religion at the U, 3,500 students attend the Institute, which offers classes and programs to help young adults “increase their commitment to the Savior as they have spiritual experiences focused in the scriptures. Institute provides an opportunity to find relevant answers to life’s questions while learning from and sharing with others who are in similar circumstances.” There are 20 active student-led religious organizations (plus the Secular Student Alliance) listed on Orgsync, including the Campus Bahá’í Club, the Christian Student Association and the Hadi Islamic Society. Four Presidents of the LDS Church (McKay, Hinckley, Monson and Nelson) graduated from the University of Utah. The U was even founded by Brigham Young himself. The U may be less religious than BYU, but it is not the heathen wasteland that many BYU fans portray it as or the secular paradise that many BYU-critics wish that it was. Religion is the biggest defining factor of both universities and it heavily impacts academics and school culture.
Academics
The LDS faith has a strong presence in BYU undergraduate course requirements. According to the “BYU Religion Credit Requirements” webpage, students have to complete “Cornerstone Credits,” including “The Eternal Family,” “Foundations of the Restoration,” “Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel” and “Teachings and Doctrine of the Book of Mormon” in order to graduate. Beyond these courses, BYU also recommends that students “include regular gospel study as a continuous part of their university experience” and states that “ideally, students should take one religion class each semester of enrollment.” There are no religious course requirements at the University of Utah. LDS students can take courses at the LDS Institute, but they do not count for credit at the U. If you are not LDS and you want to take a course about your own religious tradition at the U, you’re in a strange position – the University of Utah offers religious studies courses, but they study religion from a secular perspective and do not favor any particular theology.
Culture
Religious affiliation is the big difference between the U and BYU, but it manifests most strongly in cultural differences that are religiously based. The most obvious example is BYU’s Honor Code, which states that:
“As a matter of personal commitment, the faculty, administration, staff, and students of Brigham Young University […] seek to demonstrate in daily living on and off campus those moral virtues encompassed in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and will:
Be honest; Live a chaste and virtuous life; Obey the law and all campus policies; Use clean language; Respect others; Abstain from alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea, coffee, and substance abuse; Participate regularly in church services; Observe Dress and Grooming Standards; Encourage others in their commitment to comply with the Honor Code.”
The dress and grooming standards mean that “men are expected to be clean-shaven; beards are not acceptable” and “clothing [for women] is inappropriate when it is sleeveless, strapless, backless, or revealing; has slits above the knee; or is form fitting.” Walk around the U campus for a minute and you’ll see students breaking this code left and right. The differences aren’t just visual. The requirement to “live a chaste and virtuous life,” according to BYU, means that “homosexual behavior is inappropriate and violates the Honor Code.” BYU students can’t start an “Understanding Same-Gender Attraction” club, let alone have an LGBT Resource Center like the one that serves U students. Forget the dildo ring tosses that sometimes star at sexual health tables during Crimson Nights at the U— that would likely count as an “obscene or indecent conduct or expression,” which is also prohibited in BYU’s Honor Code.
These religion-based regulations (which apply even to non-LDS students at BYU) create a cultural barrier between BYU and the U. As established, the U student body is still fairly religious, but the universality and strictness of the BYU Honor Code constantly remind students that they are in a religious university. The physical distance between the U and BYU may only be 49 miles, but they may as well be worlds apart because their cultures are so different.
So, BYU is bad because it’s too religious, right?
Many of my friends (even religious ones) think so. The omnipresence of the LDS Church in the structure and student population of BYU can be overwhelming, even for LDS students. The religion courses seem like a strange thing to require of all students, even those who aren’t LDS. The honor code seems so strict, so legalistic and so uptight that it sounds that it should just take the next step and ban a person’s being an individual and having fun. These criticisms resonate with many U students who have either had negative experiences with the LDS Church or just want to have a “normal” college experience — sans the religious influence.
Here’s the thing: BYU isn’t right for everyone, but it is right for some students. Utah fans shouldn’t bash BYU for its identity just because they wouldn’t want to go there. If you’re a Utah student and you think that BYU is too religious and that it would be terrible to go to school there, congratulations! You don’t attend BYU, you go to the U. Embrace what makes the U unique — we are the flagship university for the state of Utah, we belong to a competitive athletic and research conference (the Pac-12) and we ranked in the top 10 academic medical centers in quality, safety and accountability from 2010 to 2016 (according to a University of Utah Health Care press release). The U is culturally very different from BYU and will continue to be supportive of students’ sexual health and is highly rated for being LGBT friendly. We will continue to put on productions of the Vagina Monologues and run a Sex Week every year. U fans can celebrate how we’re different from BYU without degrading our rival. There’s no need to — we are predicted to win the upcoming game, after all.