“In accordance with the principles of Brandeis University, Genesis is a non-sectarian program, with the primary requirement for entry being an eagerness to learn and participate in our community. Genesis welcomes participants from all backgrounds and previous experience with Judaism.”
The above quote is from the Brandeis website explaining the Genesis High School program which takes place on its campus. This was found under FAQ’s. Btw Genesis was founded in 1997 by Steven Spielberg through funding from his Righteous Persons Foundation.
Brandeis is a non-sectarian university and has been since it was founded. Many many universities had Christian sponsorships and were Christian schools when they were founded. Why is it so easy for people to accept that a historically Christian school can now be non-sectarian…but the same people have a seemingly difficult time accepting that a Jewish sponsored school was always non-sectarian and remains so?
What would you make of Muhlenberg College? It is 33% Jewish according to its website. Do all the Jewish students change the nature (and mission) of the university by their presence? Because ironically Muhlenberg is NOT non-sectarian, but is actually a evangelical Lutheran school.
@uskoolfish : I think because Brandeis is unique and there are so very main Christian schools it’s hard for folks to wrap their heads around this.
The following is NOT an analogy:
Brandeis -> Judaism
Notre Dame -> Catholicism
Or even
Wesleyan -> Methodism
Although all three schools admit students of any faith, Notre Dame is a Catholic institution in its teaching, administration and core values. Wesleyan is now totally nonsectarian but it was founded and run as a Methodist religious institution for much of its history. Brandeis has always been nonsectarian and was founded as such.
Yes. Brandeis is non-sectarian. The school has admitted students of all faiths from the beginning. That said, it does have a history of what I’ll call “Jewishness.” As of 2013 Jews were estimated to make up 48-50% of the Brandeis student population, a much larger percentage than any other non-sectarian college or university in the nation.
Brandeis doesn’t serve pork or shrimp in even the non-Kosher dining hall. Most of the buildings carry names like Shapiro and Lemberg. 1/6 of the school are taking Hebrew in any given year. As far as I can tell, every president of the university has been Jewish. I don’t think any of these things are negative, and I would never discourage a non-Jew from applying to Brandeis, but to claim that the school’s history as a school founded in reaction to Ivy League policies limiting the admission of Jews doesn’t have an impact on school life today seems to me to be a little disingenuous.
@Sue22 Every school is a reflection of its history. I would certainly not claim that Jews have not influenced the history or the culture of Brandeis. But take all your statements in reverse. Many schools will serve shrimp and pork. Many schools have only had Christian presidents. Many schools have their buildings named after donors who are Christian and have Christian sounding names. Many schools have chapels on campus that look like Christian churches.
And yet those schools don’t have the burden of constantly trying to prove that they are non-sectarian. It is a non-issue. Most of those schools have mainly Christian populations (well above the 50% mark.) And yet, they are not considered “Christian” schools.