<p>CityGal55, my experience was kind of the opposite (non-Catholic, public school product who ended up at Boston College). I'd strongly disagree with lumping BC with Notre Dame and Holy Cross in terms of Catholicity. I'm pasting a few previous posts below regarding BC's political and religious climate ...</p>
<p>Among Catholic schools, BC is probably the most politically liberal (80% voted for Kerry, granted he's a BC alum, and over 1,000 marched for gay rights this year). Of course there are conservatives as well, many of them quite vocal. Ann Coulter's talk in November drew almost as many as Howard Dean's talk in October. Overall, I'd say its a good mix, with no one political ideology dominating.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>I am not religious at all (I wasn't brought up anything; if pressed I'd say I'm agnostic) and my decision to come to BC had nothing to do with religion. Others might disagree, but I actually think that the same is true of most people who come to BC. So to answer the original question, "Are non-Catholics comfortable at BC?" I'd say that I definitely am, and I know many others in the same boat. </p>
<p>Having said that, BC is obviously a Jesuit university, and religious identity is a part of that. I'm very open-minded and actually enjoy discussing life/death/big questions type of things. These kinds of discussions are probably more common here than at other schools, though I'm sure you'd still be "comfortable" here if you had no interest in them. Still, I think the core Jesuit values--intellectual life, human rights, social justice--are a big draw for most people who end up at BC, regardless of religion. In my observation, Jesuits are different from other Catholics in that they tend to be much more open to other perspectives and actually encourage them. The theology faculty includes well-known athiest, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist scholars as well as its Catholic theologians. The theology core requirement can be fulfilled by courses that question the existence of god or more specifically Catholic courses. And there are obviously all kinds of campus groups (Buddhist, Baptist, Episcopalian, Eastern Orthodox, Hillel, Muslim are a few that come to mind) in addition to several kinds of Catholic groups (liberal and conservative). "Conservative Catholics" per se are a distinct minority, though often a vocal one.</p>
<p>Basically, like most anything else, religious life/lack thereof is entirely what you make of it.</p>
<p>... and here's what I had to say in comparing BC with Notre Dame, which I visited for the first time last fall for a football game ...</p>
<p>Religion: This was perhaps the most surprising difference for me since I am not Catholic. I'd say I found the Catholicism at ND to be "oppressive." By that I mean, it was very in-your-face (crucifixes and statues everywhere and a huge mural of Jesus Christ on the side of a 14-story high-rise) and omnipresent (I met very few non-Catholics). BC is Jesuit and I think the distinction makes a big difference. Jesuits are above all intellectuals, and historically have sometimes been at odds with official church teachings. In my opinion, that makes for a healthy intellectual environment. It also means that the BC environment is much more tolerant of (and actually encourages) religious/intellectual diversity. Sure there are many practicing Catholics at BC, but there are also tons of people from other religions and probably even more (such as myself) who don't identify with any organized religion.</p>
<p>... hope that helps.</p>