I got into a Christian school but Im SO not Christian

[m84y]

You should not have anything to worry about in terms of Fordham being in-your-face with religion. Religious opportunities (eg, liturgy, spiritual advising, even retreats) will be there if you seek them out, but nothing will be forced on you. The grad students will probably not be much different from grad students at any other university. Jesuit schools in general tend to be very welcoming regardless of what background you're coming from. I've found it's a nice atmosphere, really.

Thanks so much for the information!! From what I can tell so far they don't seem to be in your face at all which is nice. They seem very eager to help me out too which I like. I attended NYU very briefly in September and found that no one would help me when I ran into trouble. Fordham seems completely different in that sense. I was a little worried about the campus life but from what you and others have said it sounds like it is going to be a great experience!!

[classicsgirl]

hi, here's my 2 cents:

i'm a non-christian, and interestingly enough, i study new testament. i've been to three different institutions in which the intensity of discomfort varied from no discomfort at all (uchicago) to an acute awareness of my distinctly non-christian status (vanderbilt). i think the most honest advice i can give is that in america, you'll continually be reminded of the fact that you're not christian. nevertheless, i think that most schools (liberty, oral roberts, and similar exceptions notwithstanding) rather dig having a non-christian around. even at the uber-protestant vanderbilt, most of my discomfort originated from the fact that my colleagues were all aware of my non-christian religious affiliation, and therefore expected me to give a general "hindu" opinion on a number of christian theological precepts and the like. on the whole, they never tried to alienate me intentionally, but rather, they were fascinated and curious. i found plenty of people to hang with after class, and never had a problem with my social life. i will say that i felt rather tokenized by the administration though (even at such a liberal institution). they liked having a non-christian student in religion, but they never gave much thought to my concerns on a deeper, philosophical level. at uchicago, i felt no such discomfort from either administration or students. frankly, they didn't care about anything other than my intellect (or lack thereof). in short, different student bodies care about different things. also, if you're not in religion, you might not be confronted with others' (and your own) religious affiliations so much. i don't suspect your vector algebra class will care if you believe that jesus christ is your lord and personal savior.

[willmpioneer]

Now that I think of it, both universities I have attended had no clocks. In any room. And they weren't Christian.

I applied to two universities with historical religious ties, and both of these requested "religion" on the application (one of them did not have "atheist" on pull-down menu). These institutions both pledge a commitment to "diversity," so I would hope that would include diversity of religious, political, and sexual orientation.

If you don't know a current graduate student that you might ask about these questions, you might be able to get some sense of the social life of the students by investigating the website for diversity of clubs, organizations, and past/future events. Personally, I would be more concerned about how religion may or may not inform their academics. At larger institutions, both professors and graduate students tend not to be attracted in the main to a program for whether its religious affiliations match their own. But if it is a smaller, more insular school, it might be more of an issue. You might also attempt to network with other prospective students at the school (some schools have facebook or listservs for prospective incoming grads). All this is not to say that people of strong faith do not form close friendships with all sorts of different people, but, yes, if you go to a school where the majority of students are of a particular faith (the ungrad percentage might matter to you if you will also be teaching during your degree) you might feel like an constant outsider or that the interrogation of certain ideas in the sphere of academic life are shut down.

[Thomas Yang]

Hey, dear Americans overhead, I presume majority of posters overhead are local American. I really cannot understand why you are afraid of Christian or Catholic. You should be really pround of your religion/belief. Why USA is the most powerful country and most democratic country? At least I think it is as I am an alien from communist country. Because your ancesters are puritans! They are really brave warriors with big aspirations coming to this god blessed land.

Please cherish your belief, as I think, if one day america's christian atmosphere degenarated to a cutting point, America will not be the new century "Rome". I don't want to see that. Would you want to see that?

[LTee]

I wouldn't exactly say Im 'afraid' of Christianity. Im simply NOT Christian or religious at all for that matter , and therefore worried about how I would be accepted in this particular school's environment.

[NEPA]

Americans DO cherish our beliefs, and hold them very dear to our hearts. One of our core principles is the freedom to worship as we choose. This means we can choose any religion we like, or no religion at all. Most people, I think, are not afraid of Christians or Catholics--another value we hold dear is NOT to discriminate on the basis of religion. This means, we treat as equals those of different faiths, or those who have no faith at all.

I do not think America is in danger of losing its Christian core (the majority of people in this country ARE religious) anytime soon. Have no fear on that front.

Agreed. I can totally understand the desire to feel comfortable living and working in a certain community, and if that community (university, in this case) is vastly different and at odds with your beliefs, it might not be a good situation. I certainly hope LTee won't have that issue, though.

Edited January 25, 2010 by rwfan88

[JerryLandis]

I applied to one Catholic University, figuring that going there would be no big deal because they are a well-known university with a more diverse student body than other Christian universities probably have. My Jewish family was very confused, but mostly the response I got was "you'll never be able to get your birth control filled on campus!" I still figured it was no big deal, but then I visited the campus. Everything, even a local movie theater, had stuff about the glory of God and Christ emblazoned all over it. Then I read in the student newspaper something about how there was a recent stir when lots of students started wearing t-shirts that said "Gay? Fine by me!" It's nice to know that such a large number of people there aren't homophobic, but what concerned me was that the episode had apparently been such a big deal. That kind of thing seems kind of far behind for most college campuses. I don't really want to go somewhere where "Is homosexuality acceptable?" is a sincere and divisive matter of public debate. I'd prefer to go somewhere where the homophobes keep their opinions to themselves, frankly. However, if accepted to that university, I wouldn't decline the offer based simply on the religious atmosphere. I'm sure there are plenty of upsides to the community (possibly more charitable involvement?) that would make up for it. However, I have decided that I will not attend the university even if I am lucky enough to be accepted, even if I get into no other PhD programs, because the campus was too isolated and it felt like a gigantic high school in the middle of nowhere.

As for not being comfortable around Christians, I understand the basic sentiment. It's not that I have a problem with Christian people, just that I would not like to live in a community where everyone around me thought it socially acceptable to say to someone "I think you are going to hell because you haven't accepted Christ." If you are single and looking for a partner, it could be difficult to live in a very Christian community because it's hard to know until you've spent a lot of time with a devout Christian whether they are trying to keep you from going to hell, or whether they look down on your religious beliefs, or, if it's a boyfriend/girlfriend, whether they resent you for weakening their own faith. I never realized how difficult it can be to live in a Christian environment until I started dating one!

[waytooold]

A little late to the party, but I am having an experience to day quite on track with the OP's questions and some of the responses. I speak throughout the country and today am speaking at a Lutheran LAC. I am neither Lutheran nor Christian, and AM the grandchild of holocaust survivors who taught me to be sensitive to the assumption that "Christian is normal and everything else is abnormal."

Now, this is a great school with a fine tradition of great scholarship, beautiful music and a mission focused on justice, but as I walked through the halls, there was a lot of Christian symbolism, including references to "Christ" (in quotes, cause I just think of him as Jesus of Nazereth and not the son of G-d or the savior.) I saw a lot of happy, corn fed UG's having lots of fun, but at base, I knew that I never could have thrived in this environment because A) The Christian culture was too intense in the ambient spaces, making Christianity the "norm," and My personal comfort with heavy Christian dogma is near zero.

So, those seem to me to be the two things you must measure- - what is the level of "ambient" and "active" Christianity the school presents and what is your personal zone of comfort. Visit. Go to a class. Talk to some students. You will soon know.

BTW, I don't get that same feeling at jesuit schools. I love the Jesuits, however was kicked out of a Jesuit school for writing a thesis on the parallel between medically necessary abortions and just wars. I was quite a rabble rouser, obviously.

[fuddy]

Might I suggest that you not use phrases like "homosexual agenda" on this forum if you really are seeking out advice from others. It won't end well. Thanks.

[waytooold]

Why not? Nothing wrong with using it, or airing my concerns, just as others have done in this thread.

The term is provocative and suggestive of some sort of shared "agenda" amongst a population that is as diverse as the people on this board. It is a term intended to suggest that homosexuality is a political or "lifestyle" choice instead of a core identity against which bigotry and bias is still permitted to flourish. It is a term invented by those who reduce one's sexual identity to a political choice. That is why.