<p>I’m pretty sure that I’ll be attending BC. I am, however, nervous about a few things. I’m pretty liberal and hipster-ish, but in no way condescending or egotistic. I’m a vegetarian and far from catholic. Should I have any reason to fret?</p>
<p>Are there mandatory religion classes? If so, any elaboration would be much appreciated!</p>
<p>I dont know about religon classes. BUT I am a hispterish not-religious kind of guy, and I’m a vegetarian! whos provably going to attend! So you won’t be
alone! Haha.</p>
<p>Haha! That’s comforting. If we both attend, we’ll more than likely chill :D</p>
<ol>
<li>There are liberal students that attend BC. </li>
<li>There are hipster-ish students that attend BC. </li>
<li>There are non-Catholic students that attend BC (also, even though 70% of students identify as Catholic, a huge amount of them couldn’t care less about religion) </li>
<li>There are vegetarian options in the dining hall! This especially improved this year. Some of the dining halls have stations dedicated to meatless dishes. Also, during Green Month (March), each dining hall had one “Meatless Monday” where no meat was served at all. This was initiated by students and even though many people were upset to come to dinner and find no meat, there are students who care about being vegetarians. </li>
<li>As part of the core curriculum, you are required to take 2 Theology classes. However, there are options. I wouldn’t recommend you take “Intro to Catholic Theology”, but there are some cool classes that compare a number of religions (called “Religious Quest”); if anything these classes are interesting, and they’re not meant to teach you about Catholicism but rather compare some of the major world religions like Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Christianity, etc. The professors that teach these courses are very open, and welcome comments from everyone (atheists, agnostics, etc); however, they do expect you to support your arguments intelligently. Apart from being <em>invited</em> to a mass at orientation (completely optional) and your theology classes of course, you really don’t have to have anything to do with religion while at BC if you don’t want to. But being “spiritual” and such is a big Jesuit thing, so if you are open to that, that’s cool too. </li>
</ol>
<p>In short, no, you shouldn’t fret. BC is a big school, and while some members of the student body may not be your cup of tea, there are certainly students who can identify with you.</p>
<p>Agree with all of the above, and just want to say that the religious quest is an awesome course and a great way to fulfill the requirement. The theology core is not aimed at indoctrinating you, but rather to educate you about one or two religions and teach you to think critically about them. You also never have to share what your beliefs are with the class, just your understanding of the religion being studied. </p>
<p>BC definitely has more religious students than your typical school, but that doesn’t mean they come knocking on your door trying to convert you. They believe what they believe and go to mass on Sundays. I know a lot of religious people at BC, and would describe none of them as condescending or egotistic, to borrow your phrase.</p>