I went to St. Bonaventure which is very similar from my understanding. There are crosses and statues, but they really are more like art than anything. Some of the coolest professors are priests (or Franciscan Friars at Bonaventure) and not just for theology classes but for other classes. They never, ever pressured anyone to follow any religions. There were required classes in theology and religion but not taught in a “this is how it is and you have to believe” fashion but in a scholarly fashion that I don’t believe would in any way be uncomfortable for nonChristian religions. Aside from many students, staff and professors who never mentioned religious beliefs at all, when I was there we had a few Jewish professors wbo seemed pretty happy and comfortable. O don’t remember public prayers. Few students said Grace before meals.
Like I said, this was St. Bonaventure rather than Canisius but as I live within an hour of Canisius, I hear enough to believe they are very similar. Small LAC with warm, friendly, caring campuses.
“I live within an hour of Canisius, I hear enough to believe they are very similar. Small LAC with warm, friendly, caring campuses.” I live close, too, and I agree, but it is small, very good for some and not for others…
DeSales in Center Valley, PA is very in your face about Catholicism. My daughter considered going there until she received a letter after visitation but before application telling her how she could convert while a student there.
She did not apply, but went to another Catholic college where she had a great friendship with the priest.
Thank you KKmama–that’s the school I couldn’t think of in my earlier post re: Franciscan and Ave Maria College!
That’s near Pittsburgh, correct?
Actually my son was accepted to St. Bonaventure also with a similar financial package. We had written them off because of more requirements for religious classes. Any opinions on comparing Canisius and St. Bonaventure? We’re driving from Cape Cod to visit Canisius maybe we should check out St.Bonaventure too. He going to study bioinformatics and applied to all schools that had that as a major in NE. How are the science programs at these schools?
Remember too, Canisius is in the middle of Buffalo and St. Bonaventure is in Olean…big difference. I think the level of religious focus at both is similar. Canisius is Jesuit (see the discussion above) while St. Bonaventure is Franciscan. Having grown up down the street from Niagara University (another of the Little 3), and knowing professors there (all Jewish, actually), I’d say that the religious philosophy is the underpinning of the school’s approach, but does not seem to be “in your face” religion. Think Georgetown vs. Liberty.
Interesting thinking but I have to wonder if all kids of all different faiths could benefit from the Franciscan ideology of love of the poor and of the earth compared to the ideologies so common on other campuses.
I don’t know about sciences but St. Bonaventure has a very good reputation in business majors, education and mass communications. It has a long history as well.
&witchywoman23 u strongly suggest you visit St. Bonaventure. It’s seriously beautiful and the most friendly campus imaginable. When I went, and I believe it’s the same now, there were three theology classes required. I can’t remember now if they required specific ones or if most people just happened to take the same three. Everone took Meanings of Jesus (a scholarly look at the New Testament… I grew up catholic but lived finally having a priest saying that the stories didn’t make sense taken literally. I think the only people who would duslike that class would be fundamentalist Christians), World Religions (a lot about differences and especial similarities in religons and traditions around the world), and Christian Marriage (mostly I remember discussing with a priest in that class how the Imfallibility of the Pope didn’t make sense and how political the elections for pope are and he agreed). So basically, it’s more about learning about some religions but not in anyway about converting or pressuring anyone into religion.
The required philosophy classes were not religions whatsoever.
The Franscican Friars have a strong presence but they are just super nice, warm, friendly people who make the world a nicer place. They are not proselytizing all around campus.
a couple more things I thought of that might be helpful to know.
I suspect most students are nonpracticing Catholics but don’t know for sure. The majority don’t attend church and the topic of students religious beliefs rarely comes up. It’s just not an issue.
The real underpinning of St. Bonaventure is Bonnie’s basketball. Pretty much everyone goes to games. They are a fun time.
The biggest complaint about St. Bonaventure by far is the location. It always got a lot of students from the greater Buffalo, Rochester and Long Island areas. Those are fairly big cities and Ilean is not at all, let alone the town of Alleghany which students actually spend more time in. For students who like cities, actions and that kind of thing, it’s a harder adjustment. I came from a very small rural town, so it was a nice step in between rural and city for me.
I consider those schools to be nominally Catholic. Or maybe, “Catholic in origin.” Even at the time my husband attended Canisius back in the 80s, he said it wasn’t particularly interested in teaching Catholicism. So you may have a required religion course or two, but they don’t necessarily have to be Catholic, and even ones that are won’t be pushing the Catholicism too hard. The statues and crucifexes are more remnants of a bygone era. I’d say the majority of Catholics on campus are non-practicing – same as the majority of Catholics ANYWHERE.
These are nice small friendly schools (Canisius, Bona, Niagara), and I know plenty of successful people who graduated from all of them. (Canisius husband is a dr., St. Bona brother in law is a lawyer)
Also there is LeMoyne near Syracuse, and Siena down at the other end of the state.
Buffalo is plenty cold, though, no denying that!
@MAdad You are probably thinking of Franciscan Univ which, as you say, is in Steubenville or St. Vincent College which is a Benedictine school in Latrobe, PA. Both are about an hour from Pittsburgh. Of course Duquesne Univ is on top of a dramatic bluff in downtown Pittsburgh.
hi,really very interesting post.i just want to tell you that be positive.you should take the positive things. Canisius students can get involved by joining more than 100 campus organizations and trying out for the Canisius Golden Griffins varsity sports teams, which compete in the NCAA Division I Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Notable Canisius College alumni include Edward Zubler, inventor of the halogen lamp, and basketball player Michael Smrek, who won two NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Please don’t think that Catholic schools aren’t Catholic. No one will require any participation in religious events or ceremonies, but they will be there. Want to get married in the church? You or your (opposite sex) spouse needs to be Catholic. There will be prayers before graduation, orientation, and other events. Not every day, not required, but there.
Don’t go to any Catholic school thinking it isn’t Catholic, even Georgetown or BC. They are. I know the president of the Jesuit colleges organization. Nice guy, liberal guy. Still a Jesuit priest and that drives his decisions for the schools. Schools like Ave Maria are non-starters for non-Catholics or at least those who don’t want religion in their lives (constantly) but there aren’t any Catholic universities that are non-religious.
I have been suggesting for my son to look at St Bonaventure also since we will bring driving so far away and fairly close to the campus. His and my husbands argument is that the financial package requires a 3.0 gpa or all money is lost. The other colleges we are deciding between have a 2.0 gpa or no requirement. If you are interested he is choosing between Wheaton (MA) which is probably 1 st choice, RIT, Canisius and UMASS Lowell. We STILL haven’t heard from UMASS Amherst. He is going to study Bioinformatics. If you are not familiar is a biology/statistics/computer science major it is fairly new and colleges haven’t had the program very long or there are very few students enrolled to major. Research will be important along with his ability to go to graduate school. It’s pretty much required in a bioinformatics career. Which is why Canisius is a strong contender with research at UB
MADad – DeSales is at the other end of Pennsylvania. Just south of Allentown, PA to be precise.
Given that the religious aspect might be sticky, just remember that Canisius does not have an obviously Catholic/religious name, and is too small and regional for many people to know much about it. Thus, people are not likely to wonder about his religion with a Canisius degree. St. Bonaventure has the word “saint” front and center in the name. For the rest of his life, he will be asked if he is Catholic when people hear where he earned his degree. With Canisius, people will just want to know where it is.
As others have pointed out, the Jesuits are the foremost educators (and scholars) in Catholicism and Canisius is Jesuit while SB is Franciscan.
Just like people won’t know Georgetown or BC are Jesuit schools? Notre Dame? University of San Diego or Santa Clara? Who are you trying to fool? (and who is asking about religion? I hope not an employer or grad school). People who need to know (grad schools, employers) know the background of these schools and who runs them, and people who don’t know probably don’t need to know. Should we also pretend that Penn is a state school and Rutgers a private school because they ‘sound’ that way. St. Mary’s in Maryland? There it is, front and center with ‘Saint’ right there, yet not a catholic school at all.
@collegeparentnew
I hear you… and what you say is true. However, Notre Dame is something of an exception. Georgetown is Jesuit (and some believe that it is equal to ND – not me, however). So is Boston College. Those are basically the big three Catholic universities, and two are Jesuit. College of the Holy Cross is Jesuit and widely considered the best Catholic liberal arts college. Overall, it is a pattern that Jesuit colleges are above average. I cannot think of a Jesuit college which is below par (although a couple are merely average), but know of many other Catholic colleges which fail to measure up. By the way, I am Catholic.
Notre Dame probably owes its prominence more to Father Hesburgh (as well as his predecessor, John Cavanaugh) than to his order. Being a preeminent football power didn’t hurt anything either. Indeed, Notre Dame was all but unknown prior to its football success under Knute Rockne in the 1920s. Nobody would have considered it even close to being the best Catholic university in 1920.
St Johns College in Annapolis is not Catholic either. Yet I am sure that a lot of people think it is, and I suspect that St. Lawrence grads often get asked about its religious background.
@twoinanddone
Some people might not want that association with their college. See comment #1198 on this thread:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18308668#Comment_18308668
Who is asking? Co-workers, neighbors, etc… even if they don’t ask to your face. Some folks don’t want that as an issue – anywhere or anytime.
Also, you might be surprised how ignorant people are about religious affiliations of colleges. I live in Ohio, and most Catholics that I know are not aware that the University of Dayton is Catholic. I am confident the same holds for U.San Diego if you surveyed Catholics nationwide.
Collegeparentnew,
I went to U of Rochester and know the little three rather well and I would pick St. Bonaventure over the other two.
Would you please elaborate on why St Bonaventure over Canisius
The OP was concerned about attending a Catholic college as a non-Catholic. From that perspective, the Jesuit colleges are generally a good choice. I don’t know what the Canisius number is. But Fordham is about 60% Catholic students. Georgetown is about 50%. BC and Holy Cross are higher – 70-75%.
Non-Jesuit Notre Dame has a stronger Catholic character – probably 80+%.