"This can be a tough place for believers because of the secular mood," he says.

But Malone says he thinks that Harvard's atmosphere forces students who wish to be religious to be active and deliberate, rather than passively following a faith.

"In college years, students have to move from what we call inherited faith--the faith of their parents--to owned faith," he says. "When people do it that way, they come out very strong on the other side. Sometimes it means navigating through doubt, but that's why we're here."

As late as the early 20th century, religion was a determining factor in Harvard admissions, to the extent that quotas were placed on members of certain religious groups--notably Catholics and Jews.

Today, however, the administration no longer keeps tabs on the religions orientation of the student body. Neither the registrar's office nor the admissions office compiles such statistics.

Although the United Ministry provides religious information cards for each first-year student to fill out during registration, the results of this yearly survey are kept confidential by the Ministry.

According to Malone, Catholics make up approximately 25 percent of the undergraduate population and 20 percent of the graduate population, but no exact figures are available.

And Harvard's Jewish community, comprised of Reform, Orthodox and three different Conservative branches, today accounts for another 25 percent of undergraduates, according to Hillel acting Director Rabbi Sally R. Finestone.

"We have the second-largest Hillel in the country in terms of the level of activity and of size," she says. "It's okay to be actively Jewish and be part of Harvard."

The Rev. Peter J. Gomes, who is Plummer professor of Christian morals and minister of Memorial Church, says he sees an upswing in religious activity in general at Harvard.

"One of the great ironies is that this place is called `godless Harvard.' There are few colleges where there are more lively varieties of religious expression than here," he says.

Gomes says that this was less true when he first came to Harvard more than two decades ago.

"Twenty years ago, the Moral Reasoning [Core course] requirement would have been unthought of," Gomes says. "This is a much more hospitable and engaging place [for religion] than it has been for a long time."

Yet, as Gomes can well attest, with the rise of religion has come the development of a small but outspoken conservative element at Harvard, represented by such organizations as the Association Against Learning in the Absence of Religion and Morality (AALARM) and the conservative publication Peninsula.

Another such group, Concerned Christians at Harvard, came to the forefront this year, calling for Gomes resignation after he revealed this fall that he is gay.