From looking around I think Gonzaga might be a good academic choice for my HS junior D who wants to be an engineer. She said “definitely no religious schools.” However, a friend of older D’s just graduated from St. Olaf, which is Lutheran affiliated, and said that the campus didn’t feel particularly religious and he never felt any exclusion due to being non-religious. He even enjoyed the religion class he had to take. I’m sure Gonzaga is closer to St. Olaf than to Liberty University, but am not sure exactly where it lies. Would a lefty atheist fit in at Gonzaga or feel like the odd girl out? (She also doesn’t like sports which is probably a ding.)
I have heard Gonzaga is pretty conservative, but haven’t heard anything about religion being pushed on the students
a large group of kids going to this school are from California which is a generally liberal group of people
Gonzaga is a Jesuit school. Jesuit schools are typically among the more open, accepting, and liberal of the Catholic universities. Jesuit schools typically welcome input and discussion from those of all different (including none) faith backgrounds.
That said, there will likely be many obvious Catholic and religious symbols on campus, and a presence of Jesuit priests. Also, there is a requirement to take a course on Christianity and Catholic beliefs as well as one on World Religions. That does not mean they force religion on students, but as a Jesuit Catholic institution do expect students to understand the impact of religion on everyday life and modern society.
There will likely be a focus on great thinkers throughout history, and the core will emphasize humanities and encourage critical thinking - a valuable life skill. There will also be a strong emphasis on service.
There are 24 different faiths represented at Gonzaga, and 50% of students are Catholic.
@InigoMontoya, it’s funny you responded today as we just visited Gonzaga last week! From everything we’ve heard I’m not too worried anymore about the religious aspect. I really felt Gonzaga fit better with her values system than many of the secular schools we’ve looked at. She looked at their religion classes on-line and found a number that she’d actually be interested in taking. The visit went very well, so she’ll definitely apply. Your description is spot-on with what we saw and heard there.
If you (or anyone who wanders into this thread) would like to see our visit report: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20017722#Comment_20017722