<p>How comfortable is it for Protestants?</p>
<p>Good question. Very very comfortable. Fordham is 60% Catholic. Its a Jesuit school which means the Society of Jesus runs it. They are priest educators. A small percentage of the faculty are clergy. But they are awesome! </p>
<p>Nobody will proselytize you. EVER. The Church on campus is beautiful (Rose Hill). And Mass is offered there for students and faculty and anyone else interested in attending. But Mass is not forced on anyone, not even Catholic students. </p>
<p>The Fordham Core requires two Theology courses which are philisophical and historical in nature and are NOT Church dogma. The Theology Department is renown and HUGELY respected, with amazing faculty. A number of Theology majors are not even Catholic. I know of some Jewish students majoring in Theology. </p>
<p>Fordham is diverse in every way. Social, religious, racial, economic, geographical and political and even sexual orientation.</p>
<p>Fordham and the Jesuits are about inclusion,not exclusion. They are open and tolerant. </p>
<p>I STRONGLY recommend Fordham to anyone who qualifies, comes ready to work very hard and is tolerant of the views of others. </p>
<p>You are most welcome at Fordham. I hope that helps. Peace.</p>
<p>I am a student at Fordham and I agree, that I so not think being Protestant would be an issue at all. I have friends her who are Jewish, Muslim, Atheist, Protestant and they are all happy and comfortable here. The Jesuits are here to educate, not to convert. But you do have to be OK with the president of the college and some (not too many these days) professors being Catholic priests. I would suggest that you visit the campus and decide for yourself.</p>
<p>I am also curious about this. What role does ford hams religions affiliation play in issues like abortion, etc. in the classroom? I was raised catholic but do not consider myself religious.</p>
<p>The University, as represented by its religious faculty and Jesuit President (but not its Board which is “independent” and not Jesuit), follows the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church on matters of core beliefs. That does not mean that discussion, debate and even civil opposition to doctrine and policy is not allowed or encouraged. Its a university, not a seminary, and not a Vatican church office issuing policy papers. Your views are encouraged and supported, so long as you are respectful and tolerant, as they will be of you. You should not, however, expect the Church to change just for your own personal views. The objective is to reach an understanding of each other and perhaps an epiphany along the way. Reasonable minds can differ on many points, such as clerical celibacy, abortion and gay marriage. Intolerant, disrespectful and disruptive comments wont be tolerated at Fordham (nor anywhere else you go to school I might add). Bring your intellect and open mind, tolerance and mutual respect and you will be treated the same.</p>
<p>About 10% of Fordham faculty are clergy. Many of Fordham’s faculty are not even Catholic. But that is not an apology for being Catholic and Jesuit. Fordham embraces catholicism and the Jesuit order. </p>
<p>If you are unable to coexist in that environment then perhaps Fordham is not for “you” (in a general sense…not just discussing you personally.) </p>
<p>Fordham is about 60% Catholic in its student body. Fordham is renowned for its Department of Theology, both graduate and undergraduate studies. I encourage you to come and explore courses in that department and engage the faculty with your thoughts.</p>
<p>In the classroom, things can be debated with no issue. I’ve only had one prof. who was a priest and he was open to respectful discussion on any subject. You absolutely don’t need to be a religious Catholic to feel comfortable here. In general, religion is available for those who are interested (campus ministry, masses etc) but it is absolutely not forced on anyone.</p>
<p>I haven’t attended Fordham, but having spent 2 years at Georgetown (also a Jesuit school), I can confirm that Jesuits are a tolerant, open-minded, even ecumenical branch of the Catholic tree.</p>
<p>On the Georgetown campus there was a chapel with weekly Catholic mass and daily services, but there was also a prayer room for Muslims, rabbi (Judaism) and imam (Islam) chaplains, and numerous student religious associations.</p>
<p>My required introductory theology course covered the full spectrum of world religions: hinduism, buddhism, judaism, islam, christianity and more. My professor in the course was a Jesuit priest who actively encouraged open debate and questioning of ALL of these religions, including his own.</p>
<p>Now, all of this being said, it’s not as if one can say that there are no negative or trying effects of being on a Jesuit campus. On the one hand there was the awesomeness of some of the Jesuit priests who would perform with bands in the on-campus student bar and share a round with the students. On the other hand, you had a campus health center that steadfastly refused to provide any kind of contraception.</p>
<p>Pro: Jesuit schools provide a great environment for persons of any faith to be both supported and challenged at the same time.</p>
<p>Con: If you live near the chapel, the bells make it hard to sleep in.</p>
<p>Ultimately, I think the good exceeds the bad.</p>
<p>p.s. Could be a pro or con depending on your outlook, but Jesuit schools tend to have minimal-to-non-existent Greek life. G’town had it in minimal form, but it was far from being a dominant force in the social scene. Fordham appears to be similar: a small handful of recognized academic organizations, but no social ones.</p>
<p>Personally, I liked it. There were certainly students who still behaved <em>as if</em> they were Greek members. But it seemed like the social scene on campus was more diverse due to the lack of a strong Greek presence. People who were quite different from one another might easily meet over the keg at an off-campus party, or over a coffee after their student club meeting.</p>
<p>I am a freshman undergraduate at Fordham Lincoln center and I can say that Fordham is very accepting of all religions. I went to a Catholic high school and definitely do not feel the push in Fordham for religion like I did in high school. You do have to take a Faith and Critical Reasoning class, but it’s mainly just theorizing, no actual talk about religion. The professors are very opened minded and so is the administration about religion. No one is attacked for having non-Catholic views, but discussions and debate are allowed as long as it is civil.</p>
<p>I’m a freshman as well, and an atheist to boot. I wouldn’t say that it’s uncomfortable for non-Catholics here. I’m taking the first theology core class now (there are two, but the second can be a class on a non-Catholic or non-Western religious tradition), and it’s more discussion about faith in general rather than the Catholic or even Christian religion in particular. My professor isn’t even Catholic! My friends say similar things about their sections. Additionally, I live in a dorm where a few campus ministry people and a priest also live, and they’re all very kind and accepting (I think you’d have to be to choose to live with a bunch of college freshman, haha), and not the least judgmental about non-Catholics.</p>
<p>That’s not to say you won’t encounter students here who tend more toward the sheltered and suspicious of non-Catholic/Christian faiths. Especially at Rose Hill. But you’ll find those people anywhere. There were some at my supposedly very open-minded public high school too. On the other hand, most people I’ve spoken with think it’s cool that I’m not Catholic and want to start a conversation with me about it. </p>
<p>As people on this forum have said in the past, Fordham’s religious affiliation is definitely not a minor thing. Fordham is distinctly proud of being Jesuit, but that doesn’t mean it treats its non-Catholic students any differently. We’re still very much welcome. </p>
<p>As far as not being able to buy contraception/birth control goes, yeah. If you don’t believe in those restrictions, it’s a bummer. There is, however, a Walgreens literally right across the street from a campus gate (at RH, not sure about LC) where you can get your prescriptions filled and buy contraception if you need to. Also, you can always have things shipped to you and no one will know 0:-).</p>
<p>Also be aware of overnight guest policy – no guests of the opposite sex after 3:30! </p>
<p>Those are the only Catholic-faith-inspired restrictions I can think of on campus, though. Not really that onerous.</p>
<p>You are probably talking about RH but I’d say that LC is the least religious Catholic college ever.</p>
<p>I can count the number of people I’ve met at Fordham who are seriously religious on one hand.</p>