ddjones007

Oops, just realized that this has become a stem cell debate string! Who put it in featured discussions?

Aren't there other websites for the stem cell thing?

rich115

Just to clarify, the person earlier in this thread talking about how Catholicism conflicts with evolution seems to be confusing Catholics with other Christian denominations. Catholics accept evolution and do not take the bible literally in many instances, the story of Adam and Eve is said to be symbolic. It is other Christian denominations that believe in creationism and that take the bible literally.

soccerchick818

I don't know if they've mentioned this, but it really sucks when they stop serving meat on Fridays in the dining halls in observance of Lent!!!

CitricAcid

Thanks for bump!

PRUNEFACE

does the religious aspect of ND interfere with its science departments (evolution, big bang, carbon dating etc dont mesh too well with catholocism)


That isnt catholiscm, that is fundamentalism

whitecastle

I don't go to Notre Dame, but I go to a Jesuit high school...I was an atheist before I went to school because I was so disillusioned with the catechism at my hometown parish. They actually told us that masturbation was a sin...ugh. Then I go to this high school, and the teachers are amazing, know more than any people I've ever met - and they're all devout Catholics. My favorite was my biology teacher in freshman year - an absolutely brilliant guy - and when someone asked him about evolution and its religious significance and he said that he believed that scientific discoveries were God revealing the world to us slowly and surely...and in our theology class, we actually debated whether or not the Church's positions were right, and not half-heartedly - theology quickly became my favorite class.

People don't realize that most Catholics in the world are staunch, social-justice liberals. They're just pro-life. There's a sizable minority of the conservative type here in America, though... IMO in politics abortion and fiscal policies should never be related anyways.

clock26

Something I found, as a current sophomore, is that the issue with religion here (at least my issue) isn't that people discriminate. Not at all. I have also never heard anyone trying to force their beliefs or convert anyone else. Instead, the problem is that the people here tend to all have very similar mindsets. This manifests itself in discussions both inside and outside of the classroom. It can sometimes be hard to have good classroom experiences, depending on what class it is, when almost everyone has the same worldview.

Alessandra_V

My theology class doesn't leave a lot of room for alternate approaches to Catholicism. My prof doesn't care what our personal beliefs are, he just wants to know about Catholicism. It's difficult to write my papers because I have to make inferences about a religion and I have no idea if they make sense since I have no religious background. And I don't like having to compromise my personal beliefs to get an A.

But I think my prof is an extreme case because everyone else I've talked to seems to have a more open Theo class.

whitecastle

Alessandra, that's like going into a Western Civ class and trying to talk about the Chinese Civil War...most theology courses are histories of Catholicism, reading the bible, etc, not a period to discuss your personal religious views.

They actually are very open classes, in that my teachers (some priests) always take into account our opinions, as long as they pertain to the subject...such as me saying that priests should be able to marry because the presbyters in the early church could, etc - there's a lot of great discussion there.

And BTW, don't forget that the driving force behind our current university system and the systems of discussion we have were pretty much all created or refined by Jesuit priests...

aristophanes

I can sympathize with Alessandra. I once took a course on Milton, and even though I had never read Milton the prof still insisted on talking about him. Imagine. Not only that, he was totally uninterested in MY idea of paradise, and I felt as if I had to compromise my ignorance of the seventeenth-century Protestant world view.

bitti1

there is a difference between theology and religion.

our D is either an atheist or agnostic. she feels that she is far more comfortable than most practicing catholics in her freshman class. indeed the catholic kids are challenged and many feel undermined in their dogma - which is precisely the role of theology.

as for the subject of worldview - certainly the student body reflects the school's catholic status. however, the degree to which a person identifies with that personally is up to them. it is a school full of HS valedictorians, for whom certain aspects of the undergrad experience appeal. this is no different from any other student body, in which some preformed idea of "diversity" is a norm. it is like the south park episode, where all the non-conformists in diversity have to conform to some set ideology - an age old irony.

to me, this is one of the most refreshing things about ND. they make no bones about who they are. either you will appreciate that and go/apply there, or go find someplace else. however, it is exactly that no-apology attitude and free and open challenging of ALL dogma, including secular pop-culture dogma that makes ND special. they aren't bound by what fashionable set of circumstances calls itself "diverse". that is up to the student to decide, if they are trully interested in doing so, instead of adhering to faux-enlightened pop-culture paradigm. either you can dig it, or you can't. but if you can't it says more about your own rigid worldview than it does ND's.

honestabclee

Including religious (particularly Catholic) dogma???

While it's entirely possible for Domers to deviate from the Catholic worldview at ND, I doubt they can "freely" and "openly" challenge it, let alone contradict it, without risking social and academic ostracism.

aristophanes

And what planet are you from?

honestabclee

^ I'll give you a hint. It's a planet that's not at the center of the universe...

aristophanes

Oh, that one.