How "Catholic" is Notre Dame?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a pretty religious Catholic, his son is a junior at a Jesuit high school. His dream school is Boston College. They went to look at Notre Dame, and the son said "I'm Catholic, but these people are really Catholic."

Kids lighting candles and praying in the grotto, crucifixes in every classroom, etc. He thought Catholicism permeated the culture completely.

I find it surprising that a kid from a pretty religious family who goes to a Jesuit high school would find ND too Catholic. Something's off about this example ---perhaps the kid just preferred the East Coast?

That said, I don't think any student should go to ND for the reputation, ranking, whatever unless they're completely in love with it. ND is not for everybody, but most of the kids who go there really want to go THERE. That's what makes it such a special place with perhaps one of the nicest students anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a pretty religious Catholic, his son is a junior at a Jesuit high school. His dream school is Boston College. They went to look at Notre Dame, and the son said "I'm Catholic, but these people are really Catholic."

Kids lighting candles and praying in the grotto, crucifixes in every classroom, etc. He thought Catholicism permeated the culture completely.

I find it surprising that a kid from a pretty religious family who goes to a Jesuit high school would find ND too Catholic. Something's off about this example ---perhaps the kid just preferred the East Coast?

That said, I don't think any student should go to ND for the reputation, ranking, whatever unless they're completely in love with it. ND is not for everybody, but most of the kids who go there really want to go THERE. That's what makes it such a special place with perhaps one of the nicest students anywhere.

This is a good point. All of the kids I know who went to Notre Dame (and I know lots, given my roots in an upper-middle class, lots of Irish Catholics suburb of Chicago) have known they wanted ND since at least freshman year of high school, and many since they even understood what the word college meant

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a pretty religious Catholic, his son is a junior at a Jesuit high school. His dream school is Boston College. They went to look at Notre Dame, and the son said "I'm Catholic, but these people are really Catholic."

Kids lighting candles and praying in the grotto, crucifixes in every classroom, etc. He thought Catholicism permeated the culture completely.

The grotto is a special place that I don't entirely associate with being Catholic. I know a lot of non-Catholics light candles at the grotto. I've always viewed it more as a Notre Dame thing than a Catholic thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Yes, I did indeed graduate from Noter Dame in 1990 and I never met one nonCatholic when I was there. Where are all the tons of nonCatholics? Seriously - do you have any references for your statement? What year did you graduate?

The only non-Catholics I've met who have been at Notre Dame have been graduate students or postdocs. I've never met someone who went there for undergrad who wasn't Catholic.

Notre Dame undergrad is 80% Catholic. So it's obviously the large majority, but it's not like no other religions exist among the student body. You must not have been looking hard enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a pretty religious Catholic, his son is a junior at a Jesuit high school. His dream school is Boston College. They went to look at Notre Dame, and the son said "I'm Catholic, but these people are really Catholic."

Kids lighting candles and praying in the grotto, crucifixes in every classroom, etc. He thought Catholicism permeated the culture completely.

I find it surprising that a kid from a pretty religious family who goes to a Jesuit high school would find ND too Catholic. Something's off about this example ---perhaps the kid just preferred the East Coast?

That said, I don't think any student should go to ND for the reputation, ranking, whatever unless they're completely in love with it. ND is not for everybody, but most of the kids who go there really want to go THERE. That's what makes it such a special place with perhaps one of the nicest students anywhere.

My dad was educated at Jesuit schools all the way through med school. His brothers and several of my cousins also went to Jesuit schools. The Jesuits are very different from other orders in their approach to Catholicism, both theologically and culturally. They emphasize questioning and searching along the faith journey. I'm not suggesting that there aren't thoughtful and liberal Catholics among ND students and alums, but the Jesuits are probing almost to the degree of skepticism. While American religious culture has become more homogeneous over time, and that trend is reflected at all the Catholic campuses, you still see the Jesuit influence at Georgetown and BC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a pretty religious Catholic, his son is a junior at a Jesuit high school. His dream school is Boston College. They went to look at Notre Dame, and the son said "I'm Catholic, but these people are really Catholic."

Kids lighting candles and praying in the grotto, crucifixes in every classroom, etc. He thought Catholicism permeated the culture completely.

The grotto is a special place that I don't entirely associate with being Catholic. I know a lot of non-Catholics light candles at the grotto. I've always viewed it more as a Notre Dame thing than a Catholic thing.

It seems kind of odd to go to a Catholic university and complain that it is "too Catholic" and not liking crucifixes in the classroom. I mean, its a Catholic school. Have you never walked into a Catholic high school or grade school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a pretty religious Catholic, his son is a junior at a Jesuit high school. His dream school is Boston College. They went to look at Notre Dame, and the son said "I'm Catholic, but these people are really Catholic."

Kids lighting candles and praying in the grotto, crucifixes in every classroom, etc. He thought Catholicism permeated the culture completely.

I find it surprising that a kid from a pretty religious family who goes to a Jesuit high school would find ND too Catholic. Something's off about this example ---perhaps the kid just preferred the East Coast?

That said, I don't think any student should go to ND for the reputation, ranking, whatever unless they're completely in love with it. ND is not for everybody, but most of the kids who go there really want to go THERE. That's what makes it such a special place with perhaps one of the nicest students anywhere.

This is a good point. All of the kids I know who went to Notre Dame (and I know lots, given my roots in an upper-middle class, lots of Irish Catholics suburb of Chicago) have known they wanted ND since at least freshman year of high school, and many since they even understood what the word college meant

My husband is from the actual city of Chicago, and calls himself "Southside Irish" and going to Notre Dame was the goal from birth. He stayed on through law school. As the first in the family to get in, he is still venerated (and that is only partly tongue in cheek).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a pretty religious Catholic, his son is a junior at a Jesuit high school. His dream school is Boston College. They went to look at Notre Dame, and the son said "I'm Catholic, but these people are really Catholic."

Kids lighting candles and praying in the grotto, crucifixes in every classroom, etc. He thought Catholicism permeated the culture completely.

The grotto is a special place that I don't entirely associate with being Catholic. I know a lot of non-Catholics light candles at the grotto. I've always viewed it more as a Notre Dame thing than a Catholic thing.

It seems kind of odd to go to a Catholic university and complain that it is "too Catholic" and not liking crucifixes in the classroom. I mean, its a Catholic school. Have you never walked into a Catholic high school or grade school?

The thread is about the level of Catholicism at Notre Dame. I just reported the experience of my friend's son - coming from a fairly Catholic background (and yes, he has walked into a Catholic school since he attends a Jesuit high school as noted above) he found the atmosphere to be far more Catholic than anything he had experienced before. Not a value judgment, or a complaint, just a response to the question. For many people, a university where Catholicism permeates the culture completely is a major selling point. You seem kind of defensive.

[Anonymous]

South Bend is a kind of rotting, dying town. Being on campus is great, but South Bend is kind of dumpy. You can take the South Shore into Chicago if you need an urban fix.

[Anonymous]

Any Jewish kids there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:South Bend is a kind of rotting, dying town. Being on campus is great, but South Bend is kind of dumpy. You can take the South Shore into Chicago if you need an urban fix.

Plenty of great colleges in not so great towns. ND's achievement is that it doesn't matter. If it's the school for you, the town is irrelevant.