Times of war can bring out the best and worst in people, and in those extremes, many reflect on their religion.

During these times, many are left reevaluating their spirituality and faith systems. Oftentimes, religion and spirituality answer the hard questions war and terrorism bring up.

The United States has a higher level of church attendance than any other country and 53 percent of Americans consider religion very important in their lives, according to the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. However, religion has been put to the test during times of war and the results have varied.

SF State senior Peter Polito, 22, belongs to the Newman Catholic Club on campus, which he believes brings him closer to God.

The events of Sept. 11 made the geology student think of religion in a different way. Witnessing the suffering of his fellow Americans prompted him to place himself in the situation.

“Sept. 11 really showed me the global need for religion,” Polito said. “I thought, ‘What if it had been me to die?’ You look at the world, poverty, famine. It’s so easy to get down and believe the world sucks, but my faith gives me hope that really it can be a better reality.”

Religion has the possibility of hope in times of need, as well as certainty.

According to Fred Astren, director and professor of the SF State Jewish Studies Program, religion offers people comfort, answers, and security.

“People face big challenges (when) they are asked to participate in big words of meaning,” Astren said. “In turn, that leads to questioning. They turn to religion in times of war because it offers a complete world of meaning.”

Civil engineering freshman Joshua Park, 18, is a member of the Asian American Christian Fellowship, and found God to be a personal confidant when he needed Him most.

“I started to acknowledge Him as more than just a spirit, being someone I could go to when I was having troubles,” Park said.

Many students believe that Sept. 11 affected their views on religion and even strengthened their faiths.

Freshman Jasmine Robinson, 18, who is studying pre-health, belongs to the Black American Christian Fellowship. She said that religion played a major part in how we, as a nation, reacted to Sept. 11.

“(Religion) was there so we wouldn’t have a melting pot concerning terrorism. It brought us together,” said Robinson.

Not all students believe in certain religious ways, but some have still found a faith to turn to. Non-religious people who have found themselves witnessing a presence of God during a heightened time of fear, such as a time of war, fascinate senior English literature major Alex Barrett, 25.

“What’s important is that these people who were not religious, have now turned full circle. In their most primal state of fear they have no answer but to turn to the divine,” Barrett said.