I’ve always gotten a very Catholic give from Notre Dame… But that’s probably because every time I’ve ever gone it’s to see my great aunts who are nuns there 
Honestly I’m very lost by this discussion. I’m not sure why a non religious person would want to attend Notre Dame in the first place. There are many other colleges similar to Notre Dame that are secular. Just go to one of those if you’re not Catholic or comfortable with religious schools.
As an atheist, that seems obvious…
A few reasons I’ve heard from a few non-Catholic folks who attended Notre Dame and are alums:
@Torveaux You do not understand the context of my point regarding the liberal myth surrounding Jesuits. You are referring to historical and rather arcane theological differences between the orders.
What I am referring to is the common belief of many non-Catholics that Jesuits are soft on the third rail issues, like same sex marriage, abortion and premarital sex, etc. And Jesuits are liberal because the Pope talks about income distribution and Global Warming.
I don’t think people even realize that the current Jesuit Pope took the name Francis.
Yes, there are actually non-Catholics walking around that believe all this. There may be certain Jesuits that are willing to perform same sex marriages but this would be true of many orders, Franciscans, in particular. If you ask any non-Catholics which order is likely to pick up a guitar and have a folk, interfaith Mass by a stream, they will say Jesuits. If you ask which order blesses pets, the answer would be Jesuits, of course. If you asked which order involved women in the church first, the answer would be of course Jesuits.
There are many reasons for this myth among non-Catholics, but most likely it comes down to public symbols. If a non-Catholic sees a Franciscan Fiar zipping through campus in a brown, hooded, medieval robe wearing sandals they will immediately think that priest and that school is more conservative. That’s just the way it is. BTW, I kept referring to Franciscans because of the symbolism.
Why are you selectively editing out the rest of my post? I said
So your question was already answered.
To repeat: Any religious institution clearly has a right to be overtly so, in its curriculum, requirements, symbols, etc. But it is also perfectly reasonable for a person who does not share that religion to feel uncomfortable with it. Some people won’t care. Some will. Neither position is “wrong.” It would behoove anyone who is contemplating such a school as either student or faculty to really think about how comfortable they will feel in advance, because the institution is what it is.
BTW, in your example, a gentile professor started teaching at Brandeis knowing that mezzuzahs were on the doors. At BC, the classrooms had NOT had crucifixes previously. I assume you can see the difference.
To be absolutely clear, BC has every right to install crucifixes in every classroom. It’s a Catholic institution. I think that it is silly to deny that Brandeis is fundamentally a Jewish institution, and they should be proud of that. No, they aren’t Yeshiva, but so what?
As an somewhat related aside, I didn’t recall seeing many mezzuzahs during my campus visits to Brandeis while going up there to interview and later, to tour the campus.
In fact, I see them more often now on neighbors’ apartment doors in my own building and neighboring buildings than I did at Brandeis.
While it is apparent Brandeis is a Jewish affiliated school, it seemed to maintain a largely secular vibe with the possible exception of fully observing Jewish holidays for all students.
Comparatively speaking, while BC had a bit of a secular vibe as well when I visited, the Catholic character of the college was much more apparent in the buildings, curriculum, etc.
Granted, one could easily wonder whether there was some contestation between the institution being centered on Catholicism or Div I football/basketball judging by the strong spirit/sports ethos among those in the BC community when I visited and among BC students/alums I’ve met and worked with.
Brandies has 3 building on campus for worship, a Catholic chapel, a Protestant chapel, and a Jewish synagogue. From the beginning the school wanted students from all faiths. It does, however, follow a Jewish calendar.
Consolation, I am not suggesting at all that Brandeis should remove its mezzuzahs, nor should BC remove its crucifixes. Just posed a rhetorical question—both the gentile professor at Brandeis and Jewish professor at BC should be intelligent enough to understand the vibe of their institution. With all due respect, no offense intended, please don’t feel attacked!
I remember this vividly cause it made me laugh then and still does. Two sisters visit USD together. Moments after arriving to the center of campus, my HS senior daughter exclaims, “Wow this campus is so beautiful!” Then, my high school sophomore, replies, “Wow this campus is so Roman Catholic!” Then whispers to me, “I’m never applying here, just so you know.”
No knock to USD at all, it’s a great and beautiful school and my senior did apply, was accepted with wonderful scholarship, but chose elsewhere because of major strength, not the catholic thing, which didn’t bother her like it does the younger sister. So some schools aren’t for everybody, each person has to decide their own comfort level as mentioned.
Was it that big cathedral in the center of campus that made it feel Catholic?
My niece went to USD and it is a very catholic institution.
@MADad :
That would not be possible, as there are no “mezzuzahs” in Brandeis classrooms.
FYI: Brandeis is a completely secular and non-sectarian institution.
Soze–
RE: mazzuzahs (sp): I had read in the Boston Globe at one time that they were in place at Brandeis. If things have changed, then I stand corrected.
As far as Brandeis being “completely secular and non-sectarian” you cannot deny that there was a Jewish factor in the founding of Brandeis–it was founded and supported by the Jewish community. Its predecessor was a medical school that was did not have quotas on the #'s of Jewish students.
Does Brandeis have 3 chapels? Yes. Is it non-sectarian? Yes. Nevertheless, its founding is firmly rooted in the Jewish community. Nothing wrong with acknowledging its heritage.
Similar to Lafayette in PA–most do not know that it has a nominal Presbyterian affiliation.
Lafayette no longer has a Presbyterian affiliation, although it did when I attended and was quite invisible to the student body. As a matter of fact, the most visible figure from the Interfaith chapel at that time was a Catholic priest.
@MADad : I’m a Brandeis graduate and have had over 35 years of continuous association with the university.
They have never had mazzuzahs in classrooms… despite what you read in the Globe.
Brandeis was founded with Jewish “sponsorship” meaning that members of the Jewish community provided funding for the universities founding. That’s it.
The university is nevertheless secular and non-sectarian. Go to the Brandeis website and read its mission statement if you don’t believe me.
I don’t know that the hair-splitting on this thread is always helpful.
I mean, Brandeis has a distinctly Jewish identity. It may not be affiliated with Judaism in any official way, but it still has that as part of its identity.
Catholic University is both affiliated with Catholicism and has a distinctly Catholic identity. Boston College is also affiliated with Catholicism, but in a very different way, and has a different sort of Catholic identity.
Macalester is affiliated with a synod of the Presbyterian Church. I don’t know of anyone who would say that Macalester has a distinctly Presbyterian identity.
I have a relative who taught at Utah Valley University. It’s a public school with no religious affiliation, but due to a massive number of students being Mormon, she reports it as having essentially a Mormon culture on campus (though of course not as intensely as Brigham Young, which is just a bit down the road), though I don’t know that anyone would say it has a “Mormon identity”.
And so on. Affiliation≠identity≠culture≠history≠whatever else we might want to throw into the mix. Those things are all often related, but there really isn’t a clean, easy line from one to the other.
@soze Oh come on. The Brandeis website has a plethora of information about Jewish life-style and culture, Kosher eating, outreach programs to Israel, etc.
Besides, the Jewish religion is not structured like other religions so formal affiliation is much more difficult.
Muhlenberg is still Lutheran, and still has an operating Campus Ministry. Who even mentions that, but God forbid a school is Catholic…
St. Olaf is as well.
I’m not sure Lutherans are less religious than Catholics.
Actually, looking at this from a global perspective, it’s more that Christianity isn’t structured like other religions, really…
@dfbdfb Probably so, but Christian subsets do have some organization. Catholics definitely have the one voice with the biggest hat living in his own country. 
My S (Jewish/nonreligious) won’t even consider them sadly.
Christianity is not a religion. It is an umbrella term that include Catholics, Metodists, Baptists etc. etc. etc.
@HRSMom That is too bad. As a group especially for B/B+ students they offer a lot. I have visited many of the eastern Colleges That Change Lives and others similar and not a one is as nice as some of the Catholic schools, not even close, when you consider the whole package of academics, campus, alumni, school spirit, history, mission, social activity, etc.