I know there have been threads before on the religiousness of Notre Dame. But how does it compare to other top religion affiliated schools like Georgetown, BC, and Villanova? I’m not Catholic(Indian hindu) but I’m not super religious either. When I visited the other schools, the religion aspect was emphasized more in a community setting. At Georgetown they talked about the Jesuit principles of community and education. Same thing at Villanova. I’m fine with this and I actually like how much these schools emphasized “educating the whole person” and genuinely wanting to help their communities. It seemed much more focused on this rather than preaching about God. Is it the same at Notre Dame? This is unfounded but I always thought Notre Dame was the most religious of the top religion affiliated schools. Most people I know don’t even know Georgetown or Villanova have religious affiliations but its more prominent at Notre Dame(80% Catholic) compared to the ones I previously listed.
I don’t mind theology requirements as I’d rather be educated in something even if I don’t believe in it rather than be ignorant on opposing views. Other than the theology classes, what can I expect to be different at Notre Dame from schools with no religious affiliation? If I liked Georgetown and Villanova, would Notre Dame be a good fit too?
From my experience, you can be involved in the practice if you want, and don’t have to be if you don’t. Of course, there is no denying that Catholicism has a hold on some of the experiences there. For example, as a freshman, you take the Moreau First Year Experience course, which has a basis in the Five Pillars of Holy Cross teachings.
It is definitely recognized as a religious university, but there is much more than that. It is similar to the other schools you mentioned in that they want to use their religious foundings in order to create a more well-rounded and competent person for exploring and discovering the world. This is one reason why some companies prefer to hire liberal arts based engineers and scientists as opposed to the purely technically trained ones because they have been taught how to think in a bigger picture rather than just designs, codes, and math. They become the upper management, the CEOs, CFOs, etc. Being non-religious, having to take theology courses and philosophy courses opens my eyes to things I would never have learned about on my own, and opens my mind to a broader world. If you liked those other schools, Notre Dame would probably be a good fit as well - but we have better football 
D is an atheist sophomore at Notre Dame. She got an “A” in theology though. Her experience has been that not being religious is a non-issue
My son is beginning his sophomore year and could not love Notre Dame more. He is a physics major and wondered about the issue of being non-religious as well. It has not impaired his experience in any way, but instead he has found that taking a theology course was quite interesting and has opened his mind to other perspectives and views. My son’s ND experience has been fabulous from day one and we cannot be more pleased.