I am a current high school senior looking to apply to ND. As a child, I member of the catholic faith, I was baptized and had first communion but was never confirmed. As time has gone by, I have strayed from Catholicism and belief in God altogether. I am aware the the Catholic church does not view people who have abandoned the religion very positively(especially in terms of marriage), and I’m curious if ND is the same way when viewing religious preferences of applicants. I bring this up because the common app asks for applicant’s current religious affiliation, while ND also asks for the religion in which the applicant was raised in. Will my indication that I am no longer a Catholic harm my chances of admission, or is ND very impartial in their selection?
As a lapsed Catholic and an atheist what is drawing you to ND? That is what you should ask yourself and possibly use as an essay topic.
I don’t think it will hurt you, nor will it help you.
I agree, it won’t hurt or help. Also, those questions are optional so you could just not answer them.
I agree with above. I don’t believe it will have any effect on your application
I would leave the answer blank on the application. That being said, keep an open mind and heart with regards to your faith.
Agree, I don’t think it will hurt you. But IMO if you go to ND you should: 1) be respectful of religion; 2) have no issue with seeing religious symbols etc. on campus; and 3) look at the core curriculum and be fine with the idea of taking any required philosophy/theology courses.
The religion question shouldn’t make a significant impact on your application. ND collects that data and includes it in info they put out about their incoming class, but I knew plenty of non-Catholic religious students and athiests who were admitted. There is of course a religious element to campus life, particularly around resident life (single-sex dorms and somewhat suffocating rules around those), but it doesn’t affect the academics, where professors are drawn from the same sources as any other top university. You will have to take two theology courses. The first kind of reviews Christian/Catholic theology at an introductory level, the second can be whatever you want. I took “Atheism and the Question of God,” which was fantastic. You will never be graded on what you believe, but on how strongly you are able to construct your arguments.
It makes no difference but please be respectful that it is a Catholic University. I remember reading several years ago on CC that someone was offended that there were crucifixes in the classrooms. If something like that offends you , please go elsewhere because there are literally thousands who would love to take your place. Why do you want to go to ND?
I would like to offer a sincere apology to happy1. I made a snide remark on 12/5 about the number of posts he makes.
The comments he makes are thoughtful and helpful and mine was not. I think the people visiting this site are well served by his help.
@steveo87 Thank you (but I am a she LOL).
My apologies again. Keep up the good work for the people who visit here.
I am a ND grad. Notre Dame welcomes different thoughts and attitudes towards religion and faith. However, the school is extremely catholic. A lot of students are devout catholics and the school does not shy away from its catholic affiliation. There is a chapel in every dorm where students go to mass every Sunday night. Funny, I was pretty devout when I went to ND, but left with more questions. I think this is ok and part of the learning experience. I also used to work in the admissions office, and your religious background will have little to no bearing in the admissions decision. Good luck.