would you attend Notre Dame as a non-Catholic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So...it's not a question of whether she will feel welcome. It's a question of whether she will feel comfortable as one of the very few religious non Catholics. For example, will she have other friends who are not Catholic but who are still interested in going to church with her? If not, will she be okay going to church alone or will she want to go to Catholic mass?

OP here. Do kids go to Catholic mass while in college at ND? What percentage would you guess go on a weekly basis?

I guess it comes down to how many "grew up Catholic" or are social Catholics and how many are truly actively practicing, devout Catholics as college students.

I’m the poster who said it would absolutely be fine, but reading your responses I’m now not sure it really would be. And not because of your daughter but because of you.

The honest truth is that a “devout protestant“ would probably feel more comfortable at ND than any other top 25 school. You seem to assume that virtually everyone there is Catholic and every Catholic there is devout. Neither is the case.

No, my post literally asked if the Catholics students are by-in-large devout or not.

For example there is a massive spectrum of college students who identify as Presbyterian: from those whose religious identification does not impact their life at all on a daily basis to those who attend weekly church and find their college friends entirely through Intervarsity or Campus Crusade. I understand this world because I grew up in it but I'm not at all familiar with impact of Catholicism on a typical Notre Dame student's life. Or maybe there isn't a typical ND student (which in itself answers my question).

Notre Dame isn’t Liberty.

[Anonymous]

My son is Catholic and applied to ND. He doesn't know a single other person who applied, let alone has been accepted. The Catholic families will not all know each other!!!!!

[Anonymous]

100%

[Anonymous]

The vast majority of students, even grad students in my experience, are Catholic and are practicing Catholics. Does that mean they live within all the tenets of the Catholic Church, no. Does that mean they go to mass most Sundays and are otherwise believers, yes. And no, all the Catholic families don't know each other but legacy is huge here and it is not unusual for several siblings from the same family to attend - and this definitely creates a certain atmosphere. I attended as a not very devout Catholic (after having attended Catholic school growing up) and there were plenty of times I wondered what I was doing there but I don't think your DD would feel out of place as long as she is a person of faith. Best to visit and spend time on the campus for your DD to get a sense of how she would feel there, especially given many of the students attended Catholic school their whole lives. I did not do that before I attended and that would have lessened the shock of how Catholic the students are.

[Anonymous]

I went to ND. I graduated 15 years ago, but from family friends who go there now, I would say my experience isn’t that outdated.

One of my good friends was in fact, Presbyterian. She was unbothered by this. She had to leave campus when she wanted to get to church, which involved getting a taxi, taking the bus, or borrowing a car. I don’t think there were any specifically non-Catholic student groups on campus, but there were several nondenominational Bible studies and worship groups during the week that were popular among non-Catholic friends.

I would estimate that 30-40 percent of people in my dorm went to Mass regularly. Mass was in the dorm on Sunday nights at 10 pm.

While there are certainly pockets of people who know each other from high school (my husband’s high school sent 8 people there), that’s definitely not the norm. Most people go there knowing no one. That was my situation, and I made great friends within a few months.

And this is where I might be most outdated, but I would say that a typical ND student is well-rounded, hard working, community minded (this is where Catholicism is most prominent), interested in sports to some degree. Political views among students vary, mostly moderate-to-leaning liberal, as opposed to most college populations that are more solidly liberal. The school itself is of course conservative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to ND. I graduated 15 years ago, but from family friends who go there now, I would say my experience isn’t that outdated.

One of my good friends was in fact, Presbyterian. She was unbothered by this. She had to leave campus when she wanted to get to church, which involved getting a taxi, taking the bus, or borrowing a car. I don’t think there were any specifically non-Catholic student groups on campus, but there were several nondenominational Bible studies and worship groups during the week that were popular among non-Catholic friends.

I would estimate that 30-40 percent of people in my dorm went to Mass regularly. Mass was in the dorm on Sunday nights at 10 pm.

While there are certainly pockets of people who know each other from high school (my husband’s high school sent 8 people there), that’s definitely not the norm. Most people go there knowing no one. That was my situation, and I made great friends within a few months.

And this is where I might be most outdated, but I would say that a typical ND student is well-rounded, hard working, community minded (this is where Catholicism is most prominent), interested in sports to some degree. Political views among students vary, mostly moderate-to-leaning liberal, as opposed to most college populations that are more solidly liberal. The school itself is of course conservative.

Edited to add: Best wishes to your daughter and family as you make decisions in the months ahead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So...it's not a question of whether she will feel welcome. It's a question of whether she will feel comfortable as one of the very few religious non Catholics. For example, will she have other friends who are not Catholic but who are still interested in going to church with her? If not, will she be okay going to church alone or will she want to go to Catholic mass?

OP here. Do kids go to Catholic mass while in college at ND? What percentage would you guess go on a weekly basis?

I guess it comes down to how many "grew up Catholic" or are social Catholics and how many are truly actively practicing, devout Catholics as college students.

I’m the poster who said it would absolutely be fine, but reading your responses I’m now not sure it really would be. And not because of your daughter but because of you.

The honest truth is that a “devout protestant“ would probably feel more comfortable at ND than any other top 25 school. You seem to assume that virtually everyone there is Catholic and every Catholic there is devout. Neither is the case.

No, my post literally asked if the Catholics students are by-in-large devout or not.

For example there is a massive spectrum of college students who identify as Presbyterian: from those whose religious identification does not impact their life at all on a daily basis to those who attend weekly church and find their college friends entirely through Intervarsity or Campus Crusade. I understand this world because I grew up in it but I'm not at all familiar with impact of Catholicism on a typical Notre Dame student's life. Or maybe there isn't a typical ND student (which in itself answers my question).

Notre Dame isn’t Liberty.

Exactly. It's a large college with a very strong Catholic history and culture, but it's not a seminary.

[Anonymous]

My daughter is currently attending protestant church but doing great at ND.
Academics first. You'll be fine as long as you are open minded and not a bigot

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To those who attended or who know the school well; would you attend if not Catholic?
My daughter is interested in the school.
Religion is quite important to her (active in weekly church and youth group) but we are protestants (Presbyterian) and she attends an Episcopal school (not in DC).

Nope.

[Anonymous]

Out of the hundred or so schools she could pick why that one if this may even be a small issue for her?

[Anonymous]

There are only 20 T20 schools

[Anonymous]

Alvin Plantinga, a Calvinist philosopher of religion, switched his school from Calvin to ND. He said in his department (philosophy), it had a large contingent of protestant grad students. One of the largest anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are only 20 T20 schools

Ok
That’s simple how numbers work if you are creating a ranking based system. That does not mean the education one receives at a school ranked, in whatever list you’re looking at, as number 18 is measurably better than a school ranked number 37. The point remains there are numerous choices for a high school student looking at colleges, why pick a college that revolves surround a religion that you are not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Out of the hundred or so schools she could pick why that one if this may even be a small issue for her?

OP here. Well, we're trying to figure out if it IS an issue. I attended Georgetown (graduate school) and it might as well have been a secular school. I know nothing about ND.

[Anonymous]

A lot of the football players aren't Catholic.