Our family has never been to church. We live our lives and let others do they own thing. But how uncomfortable will it be for my son to attend Canisius College and not want to discuss a higher power at all?
Is he atheist or just non practicing?
If he attends Canisius and complains about seeing crosses and other Catholic iconography and asks his classmates why they believe in 2000 year old fairy tales he will be ostracized.
If he respects that others have different belief systems than his, he will be fine.
He will undoubtedly hear others talking about their religious beliefs.
Is there a religion course requirement? If there is, there will be a number of classes with a wide range of religions to study, but he WILL be discussing religion, even if it is not Catholicism.
There will be ‘religion’ around him. Many meetings will start with prayers, meals with grace, letters signed with religious messages. No one will require him to pray or to go to a mass, but masses will be held. If he doesn’t want that atmosphere, he should pick another school.
Canisius is a Catholic school, but (like Georgetown, BC, Fordham, Holy Cross. etc.) it is run by the Jesuits.
The Jesuits are known for being very intellectual, open minded, questioning and engaged in the real world. Which is why they were not the favorite order of the conservative Pope JP II. The current Pope Francis, in contrast, is a Jesuit.
No worries. Although your kid may be required to take a few theology/philosophy classes. My Jewish friends at college thought those were mostly pretty interesting.
My S went to a (different) Jesuit school and found that the Jesuits are educators first and foremost. Religious activities are available for those who are interested but they were not pushed on students. The things to consider is that 1) IMO anyone at a Jesuit school should be respectful of religion even if they don’t take par in religious activities and 2) if the core is anything like my S’s there are required theology/philosophy classes to take so I’m guessing that the idea of a “higher power” will enter into discussions/papers/reading in those classes and 3) the religious aspect may impact some things on campus (ex. at my S’s school they did not provide birth control at the health clinic so people had to go to the local drug store etc.). As long as he is fine with those things, there should be no problem. My S had friends from college who were Jewish, Muslim, atheist and they had no issues at all.
What is the appeal of a small college in Buffalo?
If my son pick a religion it would be rastafarian. he beleives in Live and Let Live. The appeal is they gave him a bunch of money and the Bioinformatics program with research at UB
Can he visit, spend a weekend, talk to students there and see how it feels?
The school’s website says that he will have to take one religion/philosophy class. Perhaps learning ABOUT one of these world religions might interest him - he doesn’t have to adopt it, just learn about it:
World Religions
RST 218-Intro to Western Religious Traditions
RST 220-Intro to Eastern Religions
RST 221-Native American Religions
RST 222-African Religions
RST 223-Religions of China
RST 224-Islam: Tradition & Revival
RST 226-Hinduism
RST 228-Introduction to Mahayana Buddhism
RST 240-Dev of Jewish Religious Thought & Practice
RST 327- Modern Global Christianity
RST 329-Religions in N America to 1865
RST 330-Religions in N America 1865-present
RST 360-Magic, Science & Religion
RST 363-Women, Gender and Religion PHI 201 — Philosophy of the Person 3 credits
A study of various notions of person, human nature, and the relationship between persons and their natural and social environments.
PHI 205 — Philosophy of Nature and Reality 3 credits
A study of philosophical notions of nature, treating such topics as substance and universals, change and causality, space, time and infinity, freedom of the will and determinism, and materialism and idealism.
PHI 211 — Philosophy of Religion 3 credits
A study of principal contemporary and classical discussions about the existence and nature of God, God’s relationship to the world, the individual and society.
PHI 221 — Critical Thinking 3 credits
A study and exercise of forming good judgments for making decisions and for solving problems, considering evidence, context, relevant criteria and theories of argument.
PHI 225 — Logic 3 credits
An introductory study of logic treating such topics as: deduction, and demonstrate techniques for evaluating reasoning, language and meaning, and various formal and informal fallacies, and the notion of implication.
PHI 231 — Thinking, Knowing, and Believing 3 credits
A study of epistemology, treating concepts and problems of such topics as sense perception, distinguishing knowledge and belief, the roles of necessity, universality, contradiction, and truth in knowing.
PHI 240 - Justice 3 credits
An investigation of (1) theories of justice and (2) problems of justice. In terms of the problems of justice, this course tackles issues of injustices due to: sex, race, class, and species.
PHI 241 — Ethics: Traditions in Moral Reasoning 3 credits
A survey of principal traditions in moral reasoning with attention to moral principles inclusive of ulility, deoutology and virtue, and their applications to contemporary social realities.
PHI 242 —Ethical Issues in Business 3 credits
A study of important concerns in business and market realities with special concern to applying moral principles in decision making.
PHI 243 — Bio-Medical Ethics 3 credits
A study of important moral issues in relation to current concerns in medicine, medical technology, and the life sciences.
PHI 244 — Environmental Ethics 3 credits
A study of classical and contemporary moral theories concerning the relationship of human beings to the manifold of their natural surroundings.
PHI 245 — Animal Ethics 3 credits
An examination of the traditional notion that animals are things, machines, commodities, or resources, and whether sentient beings have intrinsic value and should be respected.
PHI 246 — Ethics of Technology 3 credits
A study of how prominent technologies such as television, cellular phones, and medical breakthroughs affect individual persons and our society, and in what ways technological innovations make us better or worse.
PHI 247 — Food and Agricultural Ethics 3 credits
A study of the moral implications of the current food system in connection with the production, distribution, and consumption of food and aims to examine what might constitute a reasonable position regarding the ethics of what we eat and what each of us can do to help bring about a more just food system.
PHI 251 — Love, Friendship and Moral Life 3 credits
A philosophical study of the relationships among love, friendship and a moral life that treats individuals in families and society.
PHI 252 — Happiness, Virtue and the Good Life 3 credits
A study of the role of virtue and vice in the moral life, how they emerge from developments of personal character and relate to meaningful human happiness, fulfillment, and the good life.
PHI 261 — Philosophy of Law 3 credits
A study of the nature, sources and sanctions of law and legal theory, treating concerns of legal positivism, natural law theory, rights and justice, and the relationship between law and morality.
PHI 262 — Philosophy of International Law 3 credits
An examination of both conceptual and normative issues relevant to the philosophical study of international law. Topics treated include issues of self-determination and minority rights, international economic law, humanitarian intervention, the laws of war, international environmental law, and international criminal law.
PHI 266 — Philosophy of the Family 3 credits
A study of traditional and modern notions of the family with attention to challenges to the family in contemporary society.
PHI 267 — Catholic Social Thought 3 credits
A study of the legacy of Catholic social teaching from official papal encyclicals of Leo XIII to the present, from unofficial vehicles of independent social thinkers, and from social forces such as labor unions, journals, political parties, and spiritual social justice movements.
PHI 271 — Philosophy of Human Rights 3 credits
A study of various issues of human rights in global perspective to ask if human rights transcend political orders, whether they are universally applicable to all human beings, or determined to be culturally relative.
PHI 272 — Gender and Philosophy 3 credits
A study of feminist theories that analyzes the role that gender plays in society and in the formation of the masculine and feminine subjects; an examination of notions of power, structure and work; and gender as performance and representation.
PHI 273 — Race and Philosophy 3 credits
A study of philosophical assumptions underlying concepts of race that treats designations of racial identities, the political effects of racial classification, the ethics of race and the metaphysical legitimacy and social reality of racial designations.
PHI 274—Social and Political Philosophy 3 credits
A study of foundational philosophical theories on how to organize the col¬lective and social life of individual human beings, examining justifications for state authority, establishing citizen’s rights and allocating resources for human well-being.
PHI 281 — World Wisdom: Global Traditions 3 credits
A comparative study of philosophical traditions ranging from locations such as ancient Greece, Africa, Asia and the Americas.
PHI 285 — African American Philosophy 3 credits
A study of philosophical trends within the American experience with attention to the contributions of prominent African American philosophers and social activists.
PHI 286 — Latin American Philosophy 3 credits
A study of the various philosophical movements in Latin America with a focus on the way of practicing philosophy that is rooted in the lived reality of Latin American peoples.
PHI 291 — Philosophy of Art and Beauty 3 credits
A study of various approaches to thinking philosophically about art and beauty, with special emphasis on the historical variety of aesthetic theories.
RST 364-Zen and the Meditative Life
Or a philosophy course such as:
I want to go back to college…looking at those classes makes me drool!
ditto - I had that feeling last week when peeking at DS’s freshman seminar options
This is why one should just never leave academia whistles
Except then you have to specialize . . . who wants to specialize and have to actually USE their education? The fun is in getting it!
Gee,
My kid became a religion major because of a religion course she took to fulfill her distribution requirement. She says she loved her major.
On a side note, is there anyone here with a child who has attended, lives near or is otherwise familiar with the school). I am interested in hearing more. One of my students was accepted through their HEOP program (Canisius did well by them by giving them a financial aid package that had a $3500 sub loan and covered everything else). Will be visiting during spring break.
None of the catholic schools exert any pressure on students. Yes there are statues and yes many kids go to mass on campus but kids go to mass at all schools. There are no prayers before class and no one says grace at dinner. Kids party and hook up like every where else.
I spoke at St. Bonaventure when the new business center was recently opened and I was blown away by the quality of the faculty and the facility. I imagine Canisius is similar.
Canisius, St. Bonaventure and Niagra are know as the Little Three in catholic college circles. I really liked St. Bonaventure. It is ranked in the top five in the North by US News in Value.
My kids both graduated from a different Jesuit university and H got his Master’s at a third Jesuit university. We are not Catholic or even very religious. All three got great educations and wonderful life experiences through attending their universities. H was the one who encouraged our first kid with the Jesuit education. There was no religious pressure at all. The kids were locked into 2 specific religion classes and 2 specific philosophy classes, but they did fine with that. I do like the choices that Canisius offers!
dadstressed, to be fair, there are a very small number of Catholic colleges that are “in your face” religious. There is one in Florida financed by the Domino’s pizza founder (Ave Maria College, perhaps?), and there is Franciscan in Steubenville, OH, to name two. Most of the “main line” Catholic colleges (Jesuit schools, Villanova, Providence, etc) are Catholic in spirit, but very tolerant
I don’t think Canisius is one of these, but this is absolutely not true.
My son’s school sends some kids to Canisius every year and they seem to love it and do very well. I hadn’t looked at it because my son is determined not to go where it is cold after this winter. Which is a shame because this school looks absolutely perfect for him. Has everything he wants. Does anyone know of any similar schools that aren’t (no offense to anyone) in Buffalo?
Wow! Someone is asking about Canisius on this forum! I graduated from there in 1982. I was very poor, yet smart and got into their honors program. I lived on campus and their FA was so generous that I walked away with only a $2000 loan. But that was eons ago. I am not at all religious and I felt included. I did have to take three religious courses and three philosophy courses but none of them pushed any particular faith (and the class I took on religious cults was super cool). I do think you need to visit the campus though as it isn’t in the nicest area. It is also very much a commuter school. But I enjoyed my years there and went on to UB for my MBA. I had very little debt as a result.