<p>I have a junior interested in the music business program at Belmont, but he's not religious at all and definitely not a fan of country music. How would he fit in?</p>
<p>From their website, I see that Belmont considers itself a Christian university.</p>
<p>CC has a subforum just for that discussion: [Christian</a> Colleges - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/christian-colleges/]Christian”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/christian-colleges/) under the larger forum College Search and Selection. There are 3 subfora: Christian Colleges, Womens Colleges, Community Colleges. </p>
<p>You might appreciate reading threads there on your theme question, then start a new thread specific to Belmont University.</p>
<p>Also look over at [Music</a> Major - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/]Music”>Music Major - College Confidential Forums)</p>
<p>Belmont definitely has a religious bent, but due to the excellent music business program there are certainly plenty of students who are not there for the religious life. However, if your son hates country music, don’t send him to Nashville. That’s a religion, too! 
Seriously- not everyone in Nashville is a country music fan, but the city is a whole lot of fun if you are. Have you looked at Middle TN State University for music business?</p>
<p>We visited Belmont this fall. It is a really cool place. The information session made it sound like religion was very important, but we know someone who goes to school there and she said that it is not that religious. She loves it there!!! (and she is not religious at all)</p>
<p>Don’t know how religous it is, but do know it is a dry campus.</p>
<p>I think a lot of people are surprised when they first visit Nashville (I certianly was). The surface is all country music and lemonade, but Nashville also has the most interesting “indie rock” scene of any city I’ve visited. The “free thought” community there is also pretty large. Oh, and did I mention it’s gorgeous? I would love to go back someday.</p>
<p>Belmont was founded by the Southern Baptists. In the past few years, there has been a major division regarding the Board of Trustees decision to appoint non-Southern Baptists to the Board. The Tennessee Baptist Convention was not happy about this to say the least. I believe there was talk of a lawsuit. See [Belmont</a> University - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“Belmont University - Wikipedia”>Belmont University - Wikipedia) for more info.</p>
<p>I don’t think of Belmont as being exclusively tied to the Country music industry, although its location at the end of Music Row and funding by Mike Curb help with connections to that segment of the industry. Belmont has a lot of ties to the Christian music community, which is also based in Nashville. </p>
<p>My D (not interested in music) did a tour of Belmont & while she liked the profs, when the tour guides started talking about bible studies in the dorms, she knew it wasn’t the place for her. Having said that, we know a couple of kids there who are great musicians, and are not huge church goers. </p>
<p>On another thread a while ago, someone mentioned that when their child visited Belmont, they were shocked by how serious the kids there were about their music careers; some had already produced, recorded, written CD’s etc. Being interested in the music business vs. being interested in the music business at the level that kids are at Belmont can be very different.</p>
<p>I’ll also suggest that he look at MTSU; we have a neighbor who is in that program right now and is pleased; he turned down Belmont for MTSU because of $$$. Kids come from all over the country for the MTSU program, even though it is a mid-tier state u.</p>
<p>While Belmont doesn’t really cram a religious message down anyone’s throat, it’s important to note that ALL students who attend Belmont are expected to earn “convocation credits” by attending lectures and events outside of class (they are typically an hour long and scheduled at convenient times throughout the week) in order to graduate.</p>
<p>One component of convocation is Christian faith development. The lectures that I have attended for faith development have had a very strong conservative bent. You’re not going to be tested on any of the subject matter, but you do have to attend the lectures.</p>
<p>There are also religion classes that are graduation requirements: Understanding the Bible is one of them. The School of Religion at Belmont is, ironically, much more liberal than the rest of the school. Some of the best professors I’ve ever had have taught religion classes that I thought I would absolutely loathe. </p>
<p>Many students at Belmont are what you might consider nominally religious. There are some who are VERY religious, but in my experience, the majority of Belmont’s students are pretty typical university students. </p>
<p>Check the website for information on convocation. Best of luck to your son!</p>
<p>I appreciate the posts on this thread. My nephew has been accepted into Belmont’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, for its major in Audio Engineering Technology. He has not visited. He has some other acceptances in hand and is waiting on a few others. I knew about the religious affiliation at Belmont but didn’t realize there were required courses or “convocation.” He is Jewish and not particularly religious. Hearing some of this nitty gritty is food for thought. I will pass it on.</p>
<p>A number of the smaller colleges that we looked at here in the Southeast had convocation requirements; I thought it was really cool. I think there are usually enough choices that you don’t HAVE to attend religious themed ones.</p>
<p>D1 is in her first year at Belmont. She is not religous at all. Nor is she a fan of Country music. She is a double major- English/French. She has had a wonderful experience at Belmont. No Bible sudies in her dorm, as far as I know. But lots of music. Though she is not a music major, she really appreciates all the opportunities to hear live music, both on campus and in the near-by area. She has taken advantage of Nashville- Hockey games, Habitat for Humanity, indie movies & lots of music outlets. She has an on-campus job, and has met loads of new people. Feel free to PM if you need more info.</p>
<p>There is a certain number of convo credits that have to be filled in “faith development,” regardless of whether or not the student is religious. The other categories, if you’re interested, are</p>
<p>Academic Lecture
Culture and Arts
Personal/Professional Growth
Community Service
Amateur Bullfighting/Misc. Extreme Sports
Elective</p>
<p>The elective component is filled by whatever run-off/roll-over comes from filled categories. For example, if you need 10 faith development credits and you get 12, 2 will go straight to elective. </p>
<p>So far only three students have been injured in fulfilling the Amateur Bullfighting requirements. All are expected to graduate on time.</p>
<p>**Concerned parents/students, please note that I am kidding about the Amateur Bullfighting and Misc. Extreme Sports. No such category exists for convocation.</p>
<p>[Convocation</a> Program Overview - Belmont](<a href=“http://www.belmont.edu/convocation/overview.html]Convocation”>http://www.belmont.edu/convocation/overview.html)</p>
<p>I think though being a Jewish student at a Christian university where you’re expected to attend lectures on faith development (by conservative Christian lecturers according to one poster, no idea how accurate that is) and also religion credits (though I’m sure they teach some Jewish religion or at least Hebrew Bible classes), could present a certain level of discomfort that would not be present for non-religious students who come from families that celebrate Christmas. A Christian school can seem like “no big deal” or not “excessively religious” to an agnostic or a non-believer who at least comes from the majority culture. They may not practice everything, but they understand it and to some extent are a part of it. They may also not realize how strong of a Christian message the school has because as members of the majority culture they will naturally not notice certain things that a member of a minority culture would. </p>
<p>I know nothing about Belmont, I’m not saying it’s one way or the other. I’m just trying to add something to think about.</p>
<p>Yes, look closely at what fullfills the religion credits. At my son’s school that is loosly affilited with the United Methodist Church, you can get the credits by taking Greek Mythology and Intro to Budhism, among other classes. In contrast, at other schools you can only meet the requrement with multiple New Testament classes.</p>
<p>I am reasonably certain–not 100%, so please don’t take this as gospel (ha-ha)–that the required religion classes for non-religion majors are:</p>
<p>1) Understanding The Bible (Old and New Testament)</p>
<p>and</p>
<p>2) Spirituality in World Religions. (a comparative religion course)</p>
<p>Smithie: you make a good point. I can only speak from my experience as someone who does, as you put it, fit in with the majority culture. </p>
<p>It is interesting to note that a Rabbi spoke at Belmont today for one of the convocation lectures, but the convo credit was for the Academic Lecture category even though his visit was linked to the Spirituality in World Religion class. </p>
<p>Here’s a glimpse of this week’s convocation offerings:</p>
<p>[Belmont</a> University Campus Calendar](<a href=“http://www.belmont.edu/calendar/index.cfm]Belmont”>http://www.belmont.edu/calendar/index.cfm)</p>
<p>Click on any of the items in red and you’ll get a better understanding of what types of things are offered. </p>
<p>I hope this helps. I am happy to recommend professors in the religion department if you’d care to PM me.</p>
<p>I never see anything about the social scene at Belmont. My son has been accepted and would love to pursue an audio eng degree here but is very concerned some of the more “traditional” social activities will be absent… What’s the deal at this school?</p>
<p>this reply is late but may be helpful to others…</p>
<p>Belmont is religious if you want it to be, and you can “dial down” the religion if you want as well. There are “spiritual life assistants” for each dorm floor, but it is not something that many students are interested in. As for Faith Development convo, most students just sit on their computers during “convo” or text the whole time. You can finish your convo requirements in a semester. Most students were raised Christian but may not be practicing. Politically, the student body is divided. There’s a right-wing independent newspaper as well as the university journalism department’s left leaning Vision. Heck, the Religion department itself is fairly liberal. You can pick two tracks for your 6 hours of Religion: Understanding the Bible and Spirituality in World Religions, or Old Testament and New Testament.</p>
<p>As for the off-campus fun fgill1 is asking about… it is definitely there. While it’s far from Animal House, there are plenty of off-campus social gatherings nearly every weekend. The campus housing is dry/substance free, and that is strictly enforced - nice when you need to study for a major exam. Many older students rent houses in the surrounding neighborhoods that play host to weekend 'festivities", where you’ll find students from across all majors and departments. Lots of students venture over to Vanderbilt or the plethora of options downtown as well.</p>
<p>Overall the campus is very welcoming, and differing opinions and ideas are encouraged. Belmont is unique among Christian schools because of this.</p>