Religion at ND

annie205 · 11-22-2004, 07:33 PM

I am a senior applying to Wash U ED, and I am trying to figure out my list for RD in case that doesn't work out. A lot of things about Notre Dame appeal to me...among them the supportive, community atmosphere, medium sized university, and school spirit. My only concern is that I am not very religious (though raised Jewish...)...how will this affect an undergrad. experience at ND, if at all? I'd love to hear how big of a role religion has played in anyone's experience at the school. Also...any ideas on similar schools would be appreciate...Thanks!

Roger_Dooley · 11-26-2004, 10:28 PM

Since nobody from the ND community has replied, I'll offer a second-hand perspective. From what I can tell, students at ND are quite respectful of the individual beliefs of others. While someone trying to convert his/her classmates to a specific belief system might have a rougher go, I wouldn't expect a not-particularly-religious student of Jewish background to have any problems.

DAsh30 · 11-27-2004, 06:51 PM

Two of my sisters attend Notre Dame (actually one just graduated) and they mentioned that when it came time for the Catholic masses, some would go and some would stay, but there was never any resentment/discrimination or anything. I firmly believe that no problems would arise.

best_wr · 11-27-2004, 11:45 PM

on ABC, there was a special clip on Notre Dame lineman (forgot his name; something like Harris) who was Muslim. He said his teammates and fellow students were open to discussion and respectful of his beliefs.

tweety114 · 12-14-2004, 10:04 AM

I applied early action to Notre Dame last year and religion was ultimately the reason I decided not to go. Students may seem tolerant, and for the most part they are, but as a holiday Catholic and a liberal, I found it very hard to relate to many students. There's definitely a typical ND thought pattern and if you don't mesh with that it may be hard - because people who aren't Catholic/Republican are VERY few and far between. And then's there's the whole lack of divesity issue, but that's another topic.

domer08 · 12-22-2004, 04:48 PM

I decided to go to ND even though I'm Presbetyrian. All of my friends out at school are very supportive. Sure they might crack some jokes sometimes, but they're all in good fun, and they make it obvious that they're in good fun. A non-Catholic will have zero problem not fitting in.

Harry Potter · 01-07-2005, 05:54 PM

ND has a reputation for being ultraconservative but there are honestly many more moderates and liberals on campus than people think. They had a mock Presidential vote and Bush only won by a half a percent. That shocked me, too. There are a lot of devouts on campus but even though the school is 80% Catholic, I'd guess only half of that 80% attends services every Sunday. Plenty of them are Catholics in name only, like myself.

I'm an '09 RD applicant but I live near the campus and have friends who attend ND.

swtvtgyrl · 03-16-2005, 08:43 PM

lol. but all in all, most of their religious diversity is still part of christianity.

i'm buddhist. my quadmate, who visited the school.. said to me, "tammi, can i tell you something?...please don't go to that school, you will not like it and it does not fit you"

katieshen · 03-17-2005, 09:05 PM

My parents went to Notre Dame for grad school, so my experiences with ND aren't firsthand, but the professors they had and have kept in contact with are all liberal Catholics. By liberal Catholics I mean hard-core believers of the social justice variety. Maybe you know what I'm trying to describe.

Harry Potter · 03-20-2005, 12:43 PM

The faculty is also extremely liberal, as is the case at most institutions of higher learning. I've heard that the ND freshman are much more conservative and the seniors are much more liberal. What does that tell you?

03-21-2005, 07:24 PM

I really don't see why political preference is such a big issue when applying to college. I think people should be more open minded to others' ideals regardless if they are liberal or conservative. Can someone please explain to me the importance of politics in college?

ghippleh · 03-26-2005, 10:16 PM

I actually am a freshman at ND and I can truly say that you will have absolutely no problem fitting in no matter what your faith is. One of my roommates is a devout Catholic, one is an Atheist, one is Christian (Not Catholic) and I am a 'part-time' Catholic. I cant say that anyone one I know has felt left out by their religious beliefs. As a side note: ND is not as republican as everyone who knows nothing about ND would have you believe.

mattistotle · 04-09-2005, 03:54 PM

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

swtvtgyrl · 04-09-2005, 04:03 PM

i asked this question during my visit there, and apparently, the science department is very separated from the religious side of notre dame. they also said that although the students may be predominantly catholic and christian, that is not the case with the faculty. the only real science/religion conflict is the use of fetal stem cells during research.. however, adult stem cells are okay.

docmom · 04-10-2005, 04:40 AM

And Pope John Paul II came out several years ago and said, formally, that the theory of evolution is *not* in contradiction with Christianity. Mattistotle, you should do your research before you say what does or does not mesh with Catholicism. There are no recent scientific discoveries the Catholic church has disparaged or denied. You must be thinking back to Galileo

And good point on stem cell research. I am so tired of the media portraying Catholics as being against stem cell research. They are for it. As mentioned, the ONLY type of stem cell research they are against is fetal stem cells, for the obvious reason that a human life begins at conception (even without the legal right to continue living, it *is* human and it *is* alive), and they don't believe one human being should mess with God's plan for another.