<p>I'm sure this has been asked before, but I couldn't find much using the search tool. </p>
<p>How much do Catholicism and Vatican Doctrine influence daily life at Fordham? I come from a Catholic family, and I was baptized, but I don't attend church and would probably consider myself agnostic. I'm a pretty liberal guy... I think gays should be able to live whatever life they want; I support abortion rights, birth control, and all that liberal jazz. I don't try to wave my beliefs in everyone’s face, but I definitely won't cover them up if asked.</p>
<p>I’m also very interested in theology on an academic level. I certainly don't want it to make up the bulk of my studies (I want to major in a business related field) but I would have no problem learning more about Catholicism and world religions. I like discussing religion as it relates to today, attempting to back up liberal doctrine with Biblical verses, and in fact I can cite more scripture than the vast majority of my friends who have been attending Confraternity of Christian Doctrine for 10 years (I live in Massachusetts, lots of Catholics).</p>
<p>So basically my question would be, how much does religion influence daily life on campus. I have no problem learning about religion, but I would be uncomfortable if gays were being bashed outside of class, and if there was a climate of intolerance.</p>
<p>From what I've said, do you think I'd fit in at Fordham?</p>
<p>well, you came to the right place!! ... sort of. With regards to your entire second paragraph, you will get all that you desire in the core theology classes. </p>
<p>About your liberal views, well, I'm sort of a centrist leaning towards the liberal side of things. I haven't experienced any trouble with other students, whether they be conservative, moderate or liberal. You'll be fine if your a smart guy/gal. You just need to be a reasonable person and back your arguments up. Thats part of growing up, learning to have friendly discourse with someone you do not agree with.</p>
<p>my D is from SF and totally at home at Fordham- and an atheist to boot, former Catholic, btw..she loves the emphasis on service, a great unifier to be sure</p>
<p>I have read things about fordham on different college review sites, and to sum it up, it seems that religion is not forced upon the students at Fordham, but is available if they want it.
Also, I attended a small meeting with Peter Farrell (admissions director) in Houston last weekend, and he seemed to say things along those lines.</p>
<p>I am also Catholic but lately have been questioning my faith. However, I know I'd be comfortable at Fordham... it's not like Baylor (Baptist university) where they require students to take Chapel and try to shove their beliefs down students' throats.</p>
<p>i'm in my second year, and didn't realize there was a church on campus until recently!</p>
<p>just kidding. but seriously i think the first, last, and only time i stepped into university church was during a campus tour. that should give you an idea of how tolerant they are here when it comes to religion. they don't force it on you. they make you take two courses in religion but that's to learn about different religions, not to try to convert you. and at the end of the day you'll probably forget all that stuff anyways. the only thing that annoys me is that i get some e-mails from campus ministry. i've been tempted to e-mail them back to get off their emailing list. but decided that probably wouldn't do anything so i just added them to my spam list.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses everyone! Another question to give me a better picture of campus life though... Are there gay guys and girls on campus? I'm not gay personally, but if they avoided it and you see none of them around campus, maybe that says something, you know?</p>
<p>gays at fordham? plenty. in fact it's a joke with some girls i know. as it is there are more females than males at fordham close to 60 to 40. a bunch of them are gay according to these females. so their options are limited. i believe, at least from what i hear, there are more homosexuals at lincoln center than there are at rose hill. not really a surprise.</p>
<p>I do not feel Fordham is a religious school. The closest thing I feel is closest to religion is their theology core. They do not care about what religion the students follow. </p>
<p>The school respects people's opinions and do not force students to follow any particular position. There were seminars held before discussing abortion and the current situation of whether US should withdraw from the war in Iraq or not. I do not know the official policy about gays but I do not remember hearing one at all. I never saw any gays being discriminated against by the school.</p>
<p>What if one IS religious? What if an active, vibrant Catholic student group is an important opportunity in a college choice? Does Fordham offer the sincere, devout Catholic an opportunity to serve in the community, in academic fora devoted to social justice, and the freedom to take those stances that are so critical to being a Catholic as a whole (not just picking one or two), but that no politicians seem to represent adequately, i.e. being pro-life/anti-death penalty/anti-war/pro-governtment help for the poor/pro-envirnoment/pro-labor/anti-immorality?</p>
<p>Ron Paul is a politician who represents all of those /\
except, please further define what you mean by government help for the poor:</p>
<p>If I steal money from my neighbors and give it to poor people, it is still stealing. So if the government takes my money and gives it to the poor, why should that be any different (I believe in personal charity, but not forced charity)</p>
<p>anyway, more on topic,
if you are a devout catholic, im sure there are organizations and clubs available and obviously mass</p>
<p>Like doktorvater, I also want to know if there is a strong Catholic community at Fordham for those desiring it. I know there is a respect for life group that seemed pretty active (they were addressing both pro-life and anti-war issues when I was there), and there seemed to be a lot of social justice oriented groups. But I wasn't sure how active they were and what kind of community a Catholic student would find. Is there anyone out there who can give insight into this?</p>
<p>College is a time of profound personal growth and exploration. Whatever college you attend should provoke within you questions about your life and how you will lead it.</p>
<p>Fordham is proud to be a Catholic college and to enjoy its long association with the Society of Jesus (aka the Jesuits).</p>
<p>I would encourage folks to read our mission statement and visit the website of the office of campus ministry to see how this comes together in a university community.</p>
<p>I'm a Catholic student at Fordham, and I love the religious community here on campus--every Sunday night a group of my friends all go to 9pm mass, which is packed with students, and even some professors. The fact that Fordham is a Jesuit University, I feel, doesn't encourage students to become Catholic, but does encourage them to become socially active and socially aware. I have a friend who is Muslim, and she has never felt pressured to go to church or anything, although she benefits from the Jesuit influence and is involved in a social justice program here on campus.</p>
<p>Recently, I wrote an article for Rose Hill's newspaper, The Ram, about how the Pope might want Catholic Universities to become "more Catholic." Every student I talked to for quotes was appalled, all describing Fordham's religious diversity as great for discussions, and really important. </p>
<p>As for gay people on campus, I have several gay and bisexual friends who are perfectly open about and comfortable with their sexualities on campus. The Jesuits are pretty liberal, and Fr. Currie, the director of campus ministry, was once quoted in an article about Fordham's PRIDE Alliance as saying, "As Catholics, we are inclusive; we respect diversity and promote respect for religious and cultural differences...Out of respect for religious freedom and the human rights of others, we do not support aggressive advocacy and proselytism of one way of life over another."</p>