catholic school/non-religious student

[foldingtime]

im sure that this topic has been glossed in other forums, but im hoping for a more in-depth answer. im applying to two religious schools and im wondering what its like for students like me, that is, students who are not religious, or who even dislike religion. any responses would be welcome.

[gradgirl]

I went to a catholic school for my undergrad degree and I'm not catholic (nor am I particularly religious). I had no real problems with it, and I suspect as a graduate student it would be even less of an issue. You see people going to mass, but that's about all. It was never forced on me. The administration operates in keeping with a catholic code of morals, so I found some of Notre Dame's policies a little outmoded and not very open-minded; however, a good percentage of the students actively rebel against traditional Catholic values by doing stuff like wearing "Gay? Fine by me." tshirts and other such things.

My brother is doing his undergrad work at a catholic school right now and he's a self-proclaimed atheist (or was a couple years ago, anyways; I haven't talked to him about it in awhile and he's not very vocal about it)...and he completely loves it there.

I know you want an in-depth answer but I'm not really sure what to say. If you have more specific concerns about it, I could try to address them. Also my experience was as an undergraduate not as a grad student, so I don't know.

[mox]

I am at a Catholic Uni for grad school and love it. I am not religous at all but still enjoy the architecture and general feel of the school. In grad school you arnet going to have mandatory religion courses ETC that you might dislike, so I say it doesnt matter.

[mydragonflies]

I was an agnostic and went to two Catholic schools. Trinity College (Catholic women's college created as Georgetown's female alternative when Gtown was male only) for undergrad and Georgetown for my JD. There was nothing particularly catholic or religious about either school. The only religious element of GULC was having a priest and a rabbi on campus in case someone needed or wanted religious counseling. Even Trinity, I had two "nuns" as professors, but they wore street clothes and were PhDs and very liberal. The majority of students at both schools were non-religious and liberal. Hope that helps!

[chicdeac]

I applied to SLU as well and had a similar question (I'm pagan and wasn't sure how that might go over) but I talked to a friend who went to Catholic for law school and he said it was even less of an issue than when we did our undergrad at an institution which recently severed it's official ties to the baptist community.

What program did you apply to?

[mydragonflies]

For the pagan: I can't speak to SLU but at the two schools I went to, "God" and religion NEVER came up in the classes. Trinity, the undergrad, had 2 mandatory religious courses of course but like the other poster said, grad school won't. It was like the fact that these schools were catholic was totally incidental; I felt like it had more to do with their history and formation than anything else.

[daseinplushie]

I applied to SLU as well and had a similar question (I'm pagan and wasn't sure how that might go over) but I talked to a friend who went to Catholic for law school and he said it was even less of an issue than when we did our undergrad at an institution which recently severed it's official ties to the baptist community.

I go to a Jesuit school, I'm not Catholic or Christian, and it has never been a problem for me. I won't say it never comes up. I'm a philosophy major, and I have professors that are atheists, but I also have professors that are very religious Catholics. I find that most of my professors talk openly about their beliefs (and this has been the case in both philosophy and English lit classes I've taken) so if a professor happens to be religious, they may segue into that on occasion. I've never felt that it's forced on me though, and the environment is genuinely tolerant of different belief systems. Both of the grad programs I've been accepted into thus far are also Jesuit, and from what I've seen, I think it will be even less an issue at the graduate level.

[foldingtime]

i guess i kinda freaked with slu because their website is, "yay we're jesuit! jesuits are awesome! jesuit education is the way to go!" also: "we want to edumacate your body, spirit, and mind!" ok--- hold on a sec! stay away from my spirit, whatever that is, alright! but your posts have calmed me down a bit. i'm still considering slu, they have a couple professors i like.

[daseinplushie]

i guess i kinda freaked with slu because their website is, "yay we're jesuit! jesuits are awesome! jesuit education is the way to go!" also: "we want to edumacate your body, spirit, and mind!"

Heh. Just to add to this, I've learned that Jesuits are very proud of being Jesuits, and of the Jesuit model of education. The Jesuits, historically, were the skeptics of the Catholic church and were the most educated of all the orders. They also have a history of being more politically involved, originating in civil disobedience during the Vietnam War, and community service is a big part of the undergraduate curriculum. So, when schools boast of their being Jesuit, that's (at least partially) the tradition they're referring to

The "educate the whole person" bit tends to refer to approach that's supposed to be more personal and accessible than is typically found at large state universities. In my personal experience, this has held true. For example, during the admissions process, the grad director of a program at a Jesuit school--after breaking the news to me that I didn't get in--offered to give me advice and input on any other programs I might be considering. Another grad director at a Jesuit school, whose offer I declined, also offered to give me input on the program I'd decided to attend. I thought this was pretty cool.