would you attend Notre Dame as a non-Catholic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

NP. ND is less secular than Georgetown. More Catholic in feeling, sure, but still, per the PP above, perhaps two-thirds of the kids do not attend mass on any sort of regular basis.

Oh, please, that was a PP talking off the top of their head about their own dorm. And how does she even know they are going? There are Sat night masses, Sunday morning and Sunday evening. Is she standing at her dorm with a checklist?

Here's what ND actually says about expectations: "The Catholic nature of Notre Dame is visibly evident in a variety of ways on campus. The 43 Holy Cross priests in residence provide a steadfast spiritual presence that extends to the residence halls, classrooms, and the quads. More than 100 Masses are celebrated each week on campus at more than 50 on-campus chapels. And more than 80 percent of Notre Dame students participate in some form of service learning, even while they study abroad. Our faith is not just a characteristic present at our founding and then slowly relegated to the past. It is an inextricable part of Notre Dame's identity today and will continue to be in the future."

[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).

As an anecdote, my muslim nephew went to ND and did perfectly fine. Some annoying stuff but overall a decent enough experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The point is at a secular school you don’t have to figure out if it might be an issue, it simply will not be at a non catholic school.

[Anonymous]

So much Catholic bashing on this board. And so much Notre Dame hatred. Obviously the majority of the folks posting here have no personal connection to Notre Dame and are simply reacting viscerally to the OP’s question.

[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.

OP yes they do many of them.

This is a non starter. If your kid wants a Catholic education great otherwise why in the world are you even entertaining this?

Seriously find another school.

Yes, they go to mass. It's 82 percent catholic. The remaining are often hooked students to help with ND's abysmal diversity scores. There are chapels in the dorms for mass. It's very cold. Students are spouse hunting. Why would you do this if you are non-catholic when there are 4,000 other institutions in the US to pick from? There are many threads on this already.

NP. "They" go to mass, but what fraction and how often? LOL, not even half. Maybe a third, tops, attend mass.
-grad of another Catholic college

I don't know what Catholic college your kid went to, but ND is different. There is a chapel in every single residence hall often with a priest living there. There is at least one mass a week at each hall and many go, even non Catholics. It's more of a community building feel although many are devout. Here's the mass schedule. https://campusministry.nd.edu/pray/mass-times/residence-hall-mass-schedule/

Here's a recent story about Milkshake Mass. https://magazine.nd.edu/stories/jesus-joe-and-milkshakes/

Here's a heartwarming video of a student talking about the Milkshake Mass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again.
some potential issues (?)

1)the Catholic kids and their families will all know each other or will be friends-of-friends (Can see this happening?)

2)The Catholic kids will be getting out of bed at 8am on Sundays to go to mass and my kid will be heading to the Presbyterian church at 10am. (Not sure how likely this is or not for any of them in college?)

3)The Catholic kids and my daughter will get into theological debates over the sacraments, Mary and church structure. (Have a hard time seeing my kid caring enough on her end ?)

No, the Catholic kids and their families won’t all know each other. Kids come from all over the country and even other nations.

There are also Masses throughout the day, not just 8 am.

Kids will also debate politics, economics, and pop culture.

The amount of confident misinformation about Catholicism is troubling.

[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).

OP serious question. What does your daughter like about the school? Is there a specific program she likes? The football? The campus? That would give us more insight.

[Anonymous]

We are an alumni family and are at Notre Dame every year for a football weekend. Mass is always packed with students but I certainly can’t quote statistics.
Currently, I work at Georgetown and (sadly, IMO) it does feel like a secular school. ND does not.
That being said, I think your child, being a person of faith might appreciate the culture.

This past year we attended a pre-college visit as our oldest starting to look at colleges. Our tour guide mention Catholicism numerous times during our tour. They are not shy about it. If she gets accepted , you can always go for a visit and see if she likes the campus and culture.

Best of luck to you and DD. There are a lot of wonderful colleges, but choosing one is still tough!

[Anonymous]

There are also Masses throughout the day, not just 8 am.

So many masses that no one would know that a particular student doesn't attend mass. Nor would anyone care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

NP. ND is less secular than Georgetown. More Catholic in feeling, sure, but still, per the PP above, perhaps two-thirds of the kids do not attend mass on any sort of regular basis.

Oh, please, that was a PP talking off the top of their head about their own dorm. And how does she even know they are going? There are Sat night masses, Sunday morning and Sunday evening. Is she standing at her dorm with a checklist?

Here's what ND actually says about expectations: "The Catholic nature of Notre Dame is visibly evident in a variety of ways on campus. The 43 Holy Cross priests in residence provide a steadfast spiritual presence that extends to the residence halls, classrooms, and the quads. More than 100 Masses are celebrated each week on campus at more than 50 on-campus chapels. And more than 80 percent of Notre Dame students participate in some form of service learning, even while they study abroad. Our faith is not just a characteristic present at our founding and then slowly relegated to the past. It is an inextricable part of Notre Dame's identity today and will continue to be in the future."

It’s not Catholic bashing it’s what the school says it is about, see above. Is that the environment you want your non-catholic student to be in?