Have you visted Notre Dame? As current events are demonstrating, there are influences and ideologies on purely secular campuses that exhibit all the characteristics of very extreme and very dangerous religious and political thought. These are far more oppressive and troubling than the mural on the Notre Dame library and potentially far more oppressive than a priest (or nun) living in residence that has dedicated an entire life to the service of others.
Everyone is free to interpret and/or tolerate religious symbols as they so choose, but I suspect that most parents are thinking to themselves right now whether all colleges have ideological tendencies that are religious in some manner. Some appear to not be in the students’ nor society’s interest.
I certainly am, that is for sure. I guess it all depends on what one considers secular.
BTW, the cross is as much a pagan symbol as it is a Christian symbol.
I have been to Note Dame. Seemed very catholic to me. Everyone I’ve known who went to Notre Dame have been catholic. Doubt those crosses were put there for or by pagans, but you can believe that if you want and no one at Notre Dame will care or try to change your mind or the minds of ND students, as long as they are respectful of the crosses.
Consolation—if Jewish professors at BC were uncomfortable when crucifixes were placed in classrooms, should Brandeis remove the mezzuzahs (sp?) from their classrooms, lest non-Jewish professors be made uncomfortable?
Brandeis is Jewish-community sponsored, but is technically non-sectarian. It has a Jewish “vibe”, but is not a Jewish school per se. BC, OTOH, is a Jesuit Catholic university.
twoinanddone’s post is spot-on. When it comes down to it, you have to consider a few things.
Any school’s administration will welcome people from different religions, but they won’t adapt to you. If you go, you have to accept their rules and culture.
Some kids thrive when surrounded by people raised differently than they were. Some will always feel like outsiders. A person could either miss out on a lot of social opportunities at a religious school or have to participate in bible studies/mission trips/etc. Some kids care not at all, some a lot. You have to know your child.
Something else – there are TONS of secular schools with an enormous community service presence. You don’t have to go to a religious school for that. And I have a dear friend whose daughter is headed to BC, and rumor has it the daughter can’t wait to get away from their regular church and its community service. Every situation is different.
And Catholic colleges, like the Pope, are indeed Catholic!
Many non-Catholics like and attend Catholic colleges. That size of that population varies from about 20% at ND to 55% at a place like Santa Clara.
Whether a particular person feels “comfortable” or “welcomed” is up to the individual. These schools wouldn’t stay in business if non-Catholics would not enroll.
A lot of that depends on cultural factors as much, or more, than doctrine. For example, a good chunk of kids at a Catholic college are going to be grads of Catholic high schools.
A prospective student posted last year on CC and asked “Are there many Christians at Georgetown?”. I responded that there are many Catholic Christians plus Methodist Christians, Baptist Christians, Episcopal Christians, Orthodox Christians etc.
I knew what he was asking but I decided to be difficult.
As I’ve pointed out in other threads, this sort of assertion is (I suspect—let me know if I’m wrong) technically correct, but it’s also incorrect, in that it presupposes that birth control is widely available on college campuses in general. This is not always the case, and even when it is available it generally takes the form of a bowl of condoms at the student health center desk with a “feel free to take one” label, and absolutely nothing more. (This is, for example, the case at the public university I work at.)
In most cases the lack of birth control availability is a matter of funding rather than religious identity. Doesn’t matter either way, though—the ultimate effect is the same. However, again either way, there’s almost always birth control available at low or even no cost mere moments away from college campuses that don’t have it available, so there’s that.
I think a Jesuit school may be a good fit. Jesuit universities emphasize spirituality, rather than strict religiosity. They are very welcoming to all. Have you looked at Loyola MD?
Birth control is now available as part of the health insurance plan at all colleges except those exempt by religious exemption as the insurance must be compliant with ACA. If a campus health center is part of the student fee at a public (or private non-religious) school, the student should be able to get prescription birth control through the clinic. My children both can, one at a public flagship, one at a private, non-religious school (that has a non-denominational chapel run by a priest and a Newman center dorm owned by the university).
Sorry, while the first sentence is correct, the second does not flow. A campus health center does not have to have to operate a full pharmacy to see sniffles, give out flu shots, or simple meds.
No, a school doesn’t HAVE to have a student clinic, but many do. My daughters can go to the clinics on their campuses for all kinds of services, including birth control, because they do not attend a Catholic university. Most of the services are free, but some are billed to the insurance (either school’s policy or student’s private policy) Even when I went to school 35 years ago, our student clinic provided much more than flu shots. It depends on what services the clinic wants to provide. At a Catholic university, birth control is not going to be one of the services provided at the clinic.
It is just a convenience matter for most but if it is convenient, it is more likely the student will use the services.
After googling around, I ran across a report from a bit over ten years ago that said that 13 out of the nation’s 133 Catholic colleges provide birth control services to students. I don’t know if that’s still the ratio, and even if it is, it’s only 10%—but, to be honest, I hadn’t expected it to be that high, and it does point out that there’s a danger in trying to generalize across an entire class of institution.
My D is a sophomore at Loyola MD, a Jesuit university. Yesterday the school held an interfaith prayer service for the victims of the attacks in Paris and Beirut. There was a Jesuit priest, an Imam, and a Rabbi present and prayers were said in several languages. So yes, everyone is welcome at the Jesuit universities.
Not to stir any controversy, but I guess I wonder why there is a need to go to a religious-affiliated school when there are any conflicted feelings about the religion at the school. College is such a challenge in terms of adjustment. There are so many great colleges out there. Why make it more complicated?
As an aside, we visited a Catholic/Jesuit school when one of my kids was looking. We went with a VERY open mind, and they were very welcoming. However, we felt a vibe that would have resulted in his feeling like an outsider. And our family background is half - Catholic. Yet, still, it would have been another hurdle to have to deal with at school.
So, I guess I am throwing out the idea of not adding in another variable that could make adjustment to college more difficult. Best regards with whatever you decide.
The number of Catholics at Notre Dame has very little to do with the doctrine being taught there and considerably more about the fact that it is the largest Catholic-themed university. Those Catholics who like to brag about the football team or to have a ‘name’ college or a research university rather than a liberal arts school will tend to gravitate to the big school. Like many religions, Catholicism has a wide variety from religiously conservative to religiously liberal (do not confuse with political spectrum). Some people go to Mass daily…others only go at Christmas and Easter (some not even then). Most US Catholic colleges are more about imagery than about Catholic teaching. There is nothing to fear for a non-Catholic attending even the most conservative of Catholic schools.
As for the person calling Jesuit liberalism a myth…you clearly do not have an understanding of Church history or any close affiliation with the Catholic Church. Most parish priests are diocesan, not members of an order. Order priests tend to be mission based. (Education, medicine, evangelization, outreach to the poor, etc.) Jesuits have always been strong in education, but tend to stray from the Church. There have been many conflicts between the order and the Vatican over the years…dating back centuries. Jesuits fear offending other academics more than they fear offending the Church. I have 4 nieces/nephews that are Gonzaga (Jesuit school) grads. Good education, don’t get me wrong, but the Catholicism there as with many mainstream Catholic colleges is mostly window dressing.
Siena tour was led by an agnostic sophomore. Mentioned fun optional activities like ‘blessing of the brains’ service before final exams. Religious distribution requirement–can take classes in Hindu, Muslim, etc. world faiths. There are some religious icons on campus. Extremely safe area.
I can understand the point made in post 114 but the same could be said about any number of elements of college life.
Things like campus size, urban or rural environments, climate, distance from home… These can all be things that a student has some mixed feelings about or sees some negatives as well as positives. Particularly if they are things the student doesn’t have experience with–if you’ve never lived in big city, for example, it can be hard to evaluate how being on an urban campus will affect you.
There’s no need to go to a college if you’re ambivalent about the religious aspect. Or any other aspect. OTOH, it isn’t usually possible to find a school where you’re absolutely sure that everything about it is just what you want.
In response to 1or2Musicians, I completely agree that there are many things that complicate adjustment to college, and everyone needs to determine whether the school size, climate, distance from home, etc., will be the right fit.
I think it is a little different when it comes to religion, though. No matter how welcoming, no matter how much the school waters down the religious requirements, the vibe of the religious focus will affect students who come from a different background. They will always feel a bit like an outsider. When they see religious symbols, when they see nuns and priests walking around, when there are pieces of art reflective of the religion - these all may feel alien and confer a sense of “not belonging.” This may not be a deal breaker, but it can be another factor to consider when visiting a college.
And if you have not been raised Catholic, it may be hard to appreciate the subtle and pervasive effects even the most open-minded Catholic college can have on those who do not have experience with the religion. And this would be true for any religious-based college.