<p>Please forgive my ignorance! My S is a junior and we are looking at liberal arts colleges no more than 2 hours from Central NJ (his choice!). Two of the schools are "jesuit institutions". Fairfiled & U of Scranton) We are reformed jews. My question is how does the "jesuit traditon" affect the day-to-day life on a campus. I am open to learning about all religions but if professors walk around in collars or there are crosses in the classrooms I think it would be uncomfortable. Thanks so much.</p>
<p>My view of most Jesuit schools is that the faith experience is there for the taking, but is not really forced. A few theology classes are probably required, but they might be fulfilled with world religions or some-such class. There are crosses in most classrooms in Catholic schools. </p>
<p>But I am just I high school student who has visited a few Catholic colleges, and who attends a Catholic high school so I can’t speak to how it affects campus life.</p>
<p>That said, I live in a heavily Jewish community, and many of my Jewish friends applied to Catholic schools, so they obviously weren’t too concerned. But your mileage may vary</p>
<p>The schools will be very tolerant to Judiasm, and no one will try to convert him. I would guess there might be the occasional cross in the classroom but not every classroom and probably on the very small side. It’s likely there won’t be a lot of priests with collars on campus, mainly because they are in such short supply. Remind your son to walk proudly on the campus, knowing that without Judiasm there could be no Old Testament.</p>
<p>While in Scranton, check out Marywood University. It is also Catholic, but lowkey. They are even without a priest now, since he was pulled to serve a parish. The nuns are now in charge (school was originally a convent) and they are very liberal. There is a theology class requirement, but a broad spectrum of religion classes are offered. There is an opening worship service at the start of the year, but attendance is not required. </p>
<p>There are religious statues, but they don’t have crucifixes on every doorway as some Catholic schools we visited did.</p>
<p>And they have good merit scholarships!</p>
<p>Speaking from my experience working at Wheeling Jesuit (I am also a Class of 2011 alumnus), we encourage students to pursue and grow in their own faith traditions, whatever they may be.</p>
<p>We do have crucifixes in the classroom, and we still have a Jesuit community active on campus, but we do not require students to participate in faith life. Additionally, many of our opportunities offered through Campus Ministry (service, prayer groups, etc.) are geared toward involving non-Catholic students as well. With regard to course requirements, here at Wheeling we require that students take two philosophy courses, two theology courses, and one ethics course. I imagine Scranton and Fairfield have similar requirements, but again, the classes are not required to be rooted in Catholicism.</p>
<p>I think you will find at any Jesuit institution that we are happy to have you on campus and will welcome you, regardless of your faith tradition. Of course, you will get a sense of your comfort level once you visit the schools.</p>
<p>So, if I’m understanding correctly the religious class requirement or component isn’t necessarily catholic based. I have no problem with that. Most liberal arts colleges have a similar religion / philosophy aspect to fulfill. Other than, the class requirement(s) is there anything else during the 4 years that may not be part of a “non-jesuit” institution that I should be aware of? Thank again!</p>
<p>My S went to Fordham, another Jesuit school (and we looked at Fairfield and Scranton as well). We weren’t particularly looking for a Catholic school, but it just seemed that there were a few in the right academic range, size of school he liked (mid-sized), and geographic region which made sense. My S left Fordham with friends who were Jewish, Muslim, athiest etc. and they were all happy there. </p>
<p>As stated above, the Jesuit schools are known to have a large and wide-ranging core curriculum. At Fordham it did include two theology and two religion classes which I think is unique to the Jesuit schools. My S found one class to be a bit Catholic-based, but he said that the content of the class seemed to be very dependent on the prof. and he happened to get a priest. All Jesuit schools we looked at had an extensive core but it did vary a bit from school to school so you should look up the core curriculum of the schools you are particularly interested in online and see if you are comfortable with it. My S did get a wonderfully well-rounded education as a result of the core. </p>
<p>The Jesuits are teachers first and foremost. There were not that many Jesuits on campus as professors I guess because the number of priests is way down. Based on what I heard from my S, religion was not pushed on anyone, but it was present for those who wished to partake. Some students got involved in religious activities, but many others didn’t. They are always respectful of other religions so if your child wants to miss a class and go home for a Jewish holiday, I have no doubt that it will be accommodated.</p>
<p>I do think yo have to be OK with certain things like a church on campus, crucifixes, the president of the school likely being a priest etc. I would suggest that you visit at least one of the schools, see what you think, and bring the question up directly. Ask how many non-Catholic students there are (this varies from school to school), if there are organizations such as Hillel on campus etc.</p>
<p>And since your S sounds in a similar range looking for a similar sized school in a similar location as mine, I will mention that we also looked at Quinnipiac and Marist (formerly a Catholic school, now independent). Good luck with the process.</p>
<p>One thing to bear in mind about Jesuit education is that while it does not foist Catholic doctrine on any student and does not in any way try to convert a student to Catholicism, it DOES hold dearly the ethos of “being men and women for others”. That means it prizes the idea that its graduates use their education and talents to go out into the world and try to make it a better place for OTHERS rather than for themselves – as, it seems, strictly secular schools do. While on campus, undergraduates are encouraged to particapte in any number of outreach programs to those less fortunate. Consult each college for the programs it offers.</p>
<p>If that kind of service to others is abhorrent to a prospective applicant then he should only consider colleges where ‘for the greater glory of self’ is the m.o… Obviously, when I speak of this service to others, it is with the recognition that not all students will make it their central driving force, many will be just as self-centered as the next guy, and will have an education to help further that egoistical mantra. But, for those who just may think that there is something bigger out there than themselves and would like to explore that realm, it is comforting and encouraging to know that one’s college not only sees that possibility but also opens the door to it.</p>
<p>I think WJUAdmissions and (most) others have done a good job answering this question. I would like to add one point not yet raised and one that I think merits a little clarification.</p>
<p>Clarification first. Virtually all Catholic colleges will have crucifixes, not just crosses, on the walls of classrooms and perhaps other public spaces. There’s a difference that I think Catholics pay rather little attention to, compared to others. A crucifix isn’t the empty cross that Protestants favor; it’s a figure of Jesus crucified on a cross. Though I have been Jewish for 20 years, I grew up Catholic. I never thought of a crucifix as particularly gory or macabre until I became romantically involved with my now-wife, who has been Jewish since birth and was mostly raised in areas with a large Jewish population. I now recognize that to some people who haven’t been raised around crucifixes, a crucifix doesn’t look terribly different from a depiction of a beheading or of a man strapped into an electric chair. If that image is going to bother you, in a Catholic college it’s going to bother you several times every day.</p>
<p>The issue that hasn’t been raised at all is that non-Catholic students in Catholic colleges won’t have access to birth control, including condoms, through the student health center. Many non-Catholic colleges and universities do make low-cost contraception, and condoms to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted disease, available to students. Catholic colleges don’t. And from what I read in the papers, I wouldn’t expect them to start any time soon.</p>
<p>All that having been said, I have a number of Jewish friends and acquaintances, including two rabbis, who are happy, loyal alumni of Catholic universities, and particularly of Jesuit ones. So there’s no question that lots of Jews can be happy at Jesuit institutions. But (perhaps because I was raised Catholic and converted away from Catholicism) I couldn’t do it. I think it’s quite an individual thing. But well worth looking into.</p>
<p>I’m going to have to disagree with people who say that it isn’t forced. That’s not entirely true. They may not force you to take classes that are religious, but they certainly will force you to comply with church teachings.</p>
<p>School policies can, will and do reflect religious teaching. For example, at Fordham, members of the opposite sex cannot stay in your dorm room past a certain hour; I know at BC condoms cannot be found anywhere on campus (because as a religious institution, they condemn condoms and preach abstinence), and birth control cannot be obtained on school insurance, yet factually we know that this puts students at a greater health risk. Another example from BC would be that their LGBTQ organization is completely ignored by the administration, because it goes against church teaching - the only reason it exists is because non-religious faculty members have been supporting it.</p>
<p>I don’t know whether I would agree that that’s “force,” though. I think “force” is different from saying, “This is a religious community where we live by certain rules. People who are not our coreligionists are welcome in this community as long as they agree to abide by the same rules.”</p>
<p>It isn’t only Catholic universities that do this, of course. BYU does the same thing, and so do many evangelical Christian colleges and universities. I expect Yeshiva enrolls virtually no non-Orthodox undergraduates, but I would be surprised if there weren’t similar expectations of non-Jewish students at Einstein (Yeshiva’s medical school) or its other graduate programs.</p>
<p>Well this is timely. Look what turned up today in my Facebook news feed (shared by one of those rabbis I mentioned): [Why</a> Jews Should Celebrate the Ascent of Pope Francis ? Tablet Magazine](<a href=“http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/127310/is-a-jesuit-good-for-the-jews]Why”>http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/127310/is-a-jesuit-good-for-the-jews).</p>
<p>Not specifically about dustyrose’s question, but since it’s an article by the Jewish chair of the Jewish Studies department at U of Scranton, perhaps the OP can find something in here that’s relevant.</p>
<p>I am a Jewish professor at a Jesuit university in Kansas City. The thing I like about the Jesuits is that, for a large part, they emphasize education over all else. Typically, this comes with an open mind and a very accepting attitude. I would have had no problem sending my Jewish son to a Jesuit school (Santa Clara was the only one with the major he wanted and he didn’t want to go to California). If she likes the school, I would not let the fact that it is Jesuit dissuade her. Others in the NE area include Boston College and Fordham.</p>
<p>I would sure as heck hope that no student selects a college on the basis of access to birth control! There are far more important things to consider. There is a planned parenthood clinic in the Scranton area, where the original poster is considering a college.</p>
<p>Marywood University has a very active Gay/Straight alliance, although it goes by a different name. This is only because the nuns encouraged the students to hide its existence from a very conservative bishop, who is no longer in office in the Scranton area. The group’s faculty advisor is a nun who is a firm supporter of gay rights.</p>
<p>Marywood is far more liberal than Scranton University.</p>
<p>KKmama, your statement comes off as blatantly ignorant. Simply from the statement itself, it reeks of middle class privilege. What you consider important may not be considered important by people of other identities (or even the same identity, for that matter). Your statement blatantly ignores the importance of intersectionality as a part of an individual’s collective identity and ignores the relevance of such intersectional identities.</p>
<p>"…it reeks of middle class privilege."</p>
<p>To what do you object in that, are there no privileges for the middle class?</p>
<p>Obviously there are privileges which the middle class enjoys, otherwise it would be unintelligible to talk about a ‘middle class privilege’, would it not?</p>
<p>What is the objection? Assuming that your middle class privileged view is the view that everyone has, or ought to have. Trying to assert what you believe to be an unimportant factor based on your own middle class privilege is the objection, because it entirely ignores that (1) you are privileged, (2) not everyone is as privileged, and (3) the importance and relevance of intersecting identities.</p>
<p>My Dad and sister went to Scranton.</p>
<p>It was a pretty conservative school in the late 70’s, early 80’s, and late 00’s and probably still is. That being said, your son won’t be an outcast for being Jewish. When my dad was there in the late 70’s and early 80’s, there was a small but tight-knit Jewish community at the school, same with when my sister was there in the late 00’s (except there are more Muslims at Scranton than there are Jews now).</p>
<p>Marywood is more liberal, but mostly female. Marywood is also not as strong academically.</p>
<p>Jesuit schools are typically more conservative than other private universities and much more conservative than small LAC’s and state flagships. They are usually more liberal than other Catholic or Christian schools, though (the exception here being Notre Dame).</p>
<p>You are accusing me of arrogance and coming from middle class privilege for saying that I had some dismay over objecting to a Jesuit school on the basis of access to birth control, as opposed to basing a decision on academics, safety, opportunities for research, financial aid, etc? </p>
<p>Kinda ironic that I get that insult of claiming middle class privilege on the same day that my husband is told that heart surgery can take care of a life threatening condition he was diagnosed with yesterday, but he can’t have the surgery because we cannot afford to pay for it because the only health insurance we could afford has a $15K deductible and we have to come up with that 15K upfront prior to surgery. Yeah, I’m real privileged! When he dies, I’ll have all that life insurance… oh, wait, he doesn’t have much of that either. </p>
<p>The population of Marywood is becoming more gender-mixed. Yes, the academic reputation is not as strong as Scranton’s, but if the original poster wants a more liberal school in the geographic location that she is considering, it is worth investigating, depending on what her son intends to major in. It does get many admitted to good graduate schools.</p>
<p>You assume that your privileged view is the view that every student can or ought take, so yes. Obviously other factors may be considered important, but contrary to your original assertion, the availability of something such as birth control may very well be a relevant factor for a student. </p>
<p>The comment on your husband, while unfortunate, has no relevance here. Many individuals who are middle class do not have $15k to afford a surgery. Nor does that mitigate your original comment, which obviously showed middle class privilege and bias and made numerous assumptions about identity. It also appears that, based on your comments, you actually have no idea what is meant by ‘privilege’ in a sociological context. “Yeah, I’m real privileged!” Actually, you are. </p>
<p>If you don’t want to be accused of making comments which are based on or reflective of middle class privilege then, in the future, realize that such a comment does indeed contain such privilege and do not make such a comment. If you do not want to be accused of arrogance, then don’t attempt to make your world view the view that everyone else does or should have. The world is not your-views-centric; your world view is not the one everyone holds (for numerous reasons) and nor should it be.</p>