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Catholic school but not Catholic? How to address this with school when applying?
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Anonymous
| DH and I are non-religious and not Christian but would like to enroll our still-elementary aged child in a Catholic school for his middle school and high school years. Schools in my area give preference to Catholic families, but will admit non as well. We are ok with him getting a religious education and don't care if he ends up believing any of it or if he is like us and just dismisses it all. But how do we address this with the school when the ask why we want to send our child there? Honestly it's because we maintain high standards for academics and behavior in our home and like that the Catholic schools do as well. We don't know any non-religious people who have gone this route. Are we totally crazy for thinking this is a good fit? Do Catholic schools care too much as long as we pay tuition and our child attends religious services when required? We have ruled out the regular secular private schools in our general area due to the cost, commute, and so-so reputation. |
Anonymous
| We were not asked why we were looking at O’Connell when we are not Catholic. I don’t think they care, because anyone applying has to understand that it will be a Catholic-based education, they will not change anything for someone who isn’t Catholic, and be ok with that. They assume you know what you are getting into. |
Anonymous
| We are an agnostic family and we applied to two Catholic K-8 schools in NOVA for our rising middle-schooler last year and he was admitted to both schools. We used the online application from Arlington Diocese for schools under their direction and answered all questions about our background honestly. We never had to address the "why" questions personally with the school or on the application. It has never come up in teacher's conferences or other interactions with the school staff or other parents as well. So, my advice is to not let that be a reason to prevent you from applying. However, there are times with being a non-catholic may cause you or your child to feel like an outsider for obvious reasons, so I recommend your child be prepared in advance to handle those situations. |
Anonymous
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We did this for middle as our public middle isn’t good. At the interview we just said we liked the academics, clubs, warm welcoming atmosphere and their student volunteer program.
Our child has not been bought up with a faith and while he loves some aspects of the school, he finds the Catholic doctrine too overbearing and and intolerant. He does not want to stay on for high school so he is switching to public. I regret sending him there as he is sad to leave his friends but can’t take 4 more years at a religious school. |
Anonymous
| We are an atheist family and told them we didn't think our son would end up a believer but we didn't mind him getting some religious education of how to behave in a church for inevitable weddings and funerals in his lifetime. They accepted him and it's been better than I thought. No indoctrination and pretty respectful. |
Anonymous
Thanks for this perspective. |
Anonymous
| The application will ask your religious affiliation. You will probably have a family interview where you can talk about the things you mentioned. |
Anonymous
| Our son is atheist at a Catholic HS. We are religious, but not Catholic. We just told son he needs to be respectful. Turns out he loves his religion teacher. |
Anonymous
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OP - if you haven’t already, you may want to search for previous threads on this. There are quite a few responses from past threads.
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Anonymous
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Hi OP,
My family isn’t Catholic and we use Catholic schools. If it comes up on the application or an interview, just respond as you did above. It seems to be a good, honest answer. There tends to be a large non-Catholic population at Catholic schools. It’s 40% non-Catholic at my kids’ school. They really enjoy the environment, and one really likes religion class. She’s currently learning the value of service. I can quite easily get behind that. |
Anonymous
Are you referring to a Catholic school in the DC area? I thought most schools were majority (e.g., 75-80 percent) Catholic and linked to parishes. |
Anonymous
Then say that |
Anonymous
| Hi OP- I attended a local Catholic HS and was not Catholic. I loved my experience, made great friends, and felt prepared for college. I was respectful during the religious aspects of school, and never felt left out or pressure to conform. I should say there were other non Catholic so it want like I was the ‘only one’. |
Anonymous
Only K-8 parochial schools are affiliated with a parish; the Catholic independent schools are not affiliated with a parish, start at various grades, and most have a philosophy that they are in the world of education because they are Catholic (Catholic intellectual tradition; many religious orders have education as their calling), not because the students are. Examples: Stone Ridge, Visitation, Georgetown Prep, Mater Dei, The Heights, St. Anselm's Abbey, Gonzaga, etc. So yes, some are 40% or more non-Catholic. |
Anonymous
| High behavior standards? The boys I know from catholic school in Arlington are some of the worst behaved I know. |