<p>I just wasn't brought up with religion. I would say I'm agnostic if I had to, but honestly I do not really even know. Never been to church.</p>
<p>ND appeals to me as a school in general, but would my experience be altered or would it not be as good a fit since I am not religious at all in any belief?</p>
<p>Also, this may come off as pathetic to some, but I do not know the religious stories from the bible and all of that stuff...at all =/</p>
<p>You and me both…you won’t be alone, lol. When I went there, I learned that many of the students that consider themselves Catholic aren’t really that religious so you shouldn’t be worried really, at least from what I’ve heard. The message I got from being there was that Notre Dame is for everybody!</p>
<p>Hey collegekang,</p>
<p>I’m still in HS like you, but from what I’ve read on these boards, this wouldn’t be that big of an issue. The way it’s been explained to me is that you will get out of the religious life at ND what you put into it–but still that sounds more negative toward your situation than it is. If you’re really religious, then there’s lots of opportunity to express that and to grow. If you’re not, ND’s still a great school and will still impact your life. Despite a large majority of the student body being Catholic, not all of them are religious (as Black’s Law said). You’ll certainly learn at least some amount of religious stuff at ND just from osmosis and perhaps some theology classes, but they won’t be smashing it over your head or shutting you out of social life or anything. ND is supposed to be very open; you’ll fit in just fine.</p>
<p>Try it, you’ll like it.</p>
<p>And all the cool kids are doing it…</p>
<p>The students who seem to have the most struggles with Notre Dame’s Catholic identity are those who pointedly dissent from various Church teachings, and who expect that their college experience will be untouched by those teachings. Every year, there are passionate letters in the Observer from students who are shocked! shocked! to find that the dining halls don’t serve meat on Lenten Fridays, or that the student health services do not dispense contraceptives, or that parietals are actually enforced, or that there is no official gay student group. Many of those students could have avoided that shock had they given some careful consideration to whether Notre Dame was a good fit for them, given their hostility toward unpopular Catholic teachings. </p>
<p>But if you’re just indifferent or ignorant about Catholicism in particular or religion in general, you won’t have a problem. Your fellow students will respect your non-belief, provided that you don’t mock their faith.</p>
<p>The two people I know best who currently attend are serious atheists and very happy.</p>