The Washington Post recently interviewed three college professors with a combined 114 years of teaching at Catholic colleges and universities.
Their experiences as liberal Catholics in an ever-changing Catholic setting was fascinating. Here is what one professor had to say about his tenure at Notre Dame in Indiana:
The major advantage of teaching at Notre Dame the last 47 years,” (Peter) Walshe said, “has been the fairly widespread if often inchoate acceptance of the Exodus, Covenant and Gospels as a basis for hope, for a sense of linear history with which there is an ongoing moral challenge to build more compassionate and egalitarian societies. In short, I have found an openness to value issues, matters of charity and deepening our understanding of justice.”
Have there been disappointments? “The university’s sense of mission has faltered on at least three fronts,” Walshe said. “It has not reached out in a decisive way to invite members of other Christian denominations to join us, particularly in sharing insights on matters of theology, history and justice. We do not have a mosque or synagogue on campus. Notre Dame, in tandem with recent popes and the Vatican, has also frowned on liberation theology. Unions are still not tolerated on campus.”
In a 1996 piece in Common Sense, Walshe wrote of the “monied power” and “pro-capitalist leadership” that Notre Dame nurtures: “Take our governing body, the board of trustees, weighted with extravagantly paid corporate CEOs and their lawyers. Where are the doctors serving in our inner cities, the devoted social workers, trade unionists and leaders of service-oriented NGOs?”
Here is what another professor, Tom Lee, had to say about teaching at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire:
As with (Michael) True, who tangled with the Assumption fathers who run the school, Lee, who taught biology, has had tensions with the St. Anselm Benedictines.
“Over the years, I did try to drum up some student activism about a number of causes, often relating to questions of war and peace,” Lee said. “I had very few takers, with some wonderful exceptions, and while the school administration was adamantly against abortion, they cared little for the seamless-garment argument for protecting all life by choosing nonviolence over war.”
Have any of you or your children attended Catholic colleges or universities? How does the experience compare back then to now?
no, but I teach at one
And I will say that I really like the focus on social justice issues and service that are part of the campus culture and that I have enjoyed complete academic freedom in the classroom to deal with controversial topics that are sometimes against church teachings. Our students come to us, generally, as moderate to conservative, and leave with at least a more thoughtful understanding of faith and society that is informed by the social justice and ethics teachings of the church.
On the other hand, I am increasingly concerned about the influence that conservative Catholic groups are having on our campus. Members of these conservative Catholic groups patrol university websites and then e-mail and call the president and board members about campus issues. Out of fear of losing donors, sometimes the president has canceled speakers or avoided programs or censored student groups. I haven’t been here very long, but word on the street is that this influence is much worse now than it used to be. yikes.
I work at one
and shortly after I was hired, I discreetly asked my boss about the cultural climate. She said it had never been much of an issue for her (she’s not Catholic either, and is quite liberal)–no real propaganda on campus either way. I’ve pretty much found that to be true–certainly no pro-life literature, but no real protest literature either. It’s a women’s college (at least the undergraduate program is) and the political issues that seem to come to the forefront the most are related to global poverty and health care access. Most debate I’ve seen has been thoughtful and interesting.
A Gay-Straight Alliance is listed among the campus organizations, but I don’t know how active it is.
We had an interesting moment with some alumnae recently during a reunion, in which someone was horrified by some of the signs in the dormitory that was part of the campus tour (apparently “no sex in the showers” wasn’t an issue in their day!).
I was a bit disturbed recently when I found out that our health insurance policy has the “Catholic exemption”–i. e., won’t fund birth control or infertility treatments. It’s not a personal issue for me, since DH has been snipped, but I’m not happy about it not being an option for others. Probably not unhappy enough to seriously reconsider working there, but it’s nagged at me.
curious
I’m curious, why would that surprise you? Were you led to believe something different when you were hired?
it wasn’t very blatant
on the insurance paperwork when I was hired–I just had to re-up my policy and the clause jumped out at me. I asked our HR director about it (an old friend and a fellow atheist) and she said that it was getting more publicity this year because of complaints from the archdiocese (I think).
I don’t know
I don’t know why people are surprised when Catholic colleges are, gasp, Catholic.
To be honest, I don’t know what is going to happen to all of the Catholic colleges in this country. They seem to be in a weird limbo…not quite secular, but not quite Catholic either. I don’t know why anyone who isn’t Catholic would want to go to them, but at the same time, the highly observant, conservative Catholics are abandoning them.
why
Sometimes I’m pretty sure it’s because their parents want them to go there (and may not pay for anything else). Sometimes it’s legacy. Sometimes it’s just the fact that we have good programs for specific fields, or because a small college is appealing.
I went to a Catholic university for a few years
I was Catholic at the time, but not particularly devout. I went there partly because of parental pressure and since I wasn’t sure what I wanted out of college, I wasn’t in the position to resist that pressure.
That said, many of my classmates were not Catholic. My college boyfriend was Jewish. Some were attracted to the university by the small size, some by the excellent film studies program, some by the strong liberal arts emphasis.
Given the competitive nature of college admissions these days, I would be surprised if institutions like Boston College, Georgetown, Notre Dame, University of San Francisco, and Santa Clara University are having difficulty attracting students.
I could understand it
Georgetown, Notre Dame, Villanove-these are good schools. Our local Catholic college is consistently ranks highly amongst schools of the same size listed in US News and World Report. Academics are usually excellent at Catholic schools particularly those run by the Jesuits.
There’s Catholic and there’s Catholic
Catholic clergy who are also scholars are typically really liberal. There’s a place for debate within the Catholic church on a number of issues, and what better place for that to happen than Catholic universities? I’m not Catholic, but I like the openness at my institution to discuss matters of faith and also to push the church and society toward a stronger social justice position on a lot of issues. Many Catholic universities, for example, offer domestic partner benefits…not because they are increasingly secular, but because they are social justice and civil rights focused Catholics.
We have no problems getting quality applicants from a diversity of religious perspectives. The highly observant Catholics are certainly spending a lot of time trying to bombard the Catholic universities with their perspectives and causing campus cultures to be more conservative, so it’s ironic to think that these same folks are abandoning them.
in the end
I think in the end they are going to end up being secular schools that used to be Catholic. Whether they lean liberal or conservative will not be dependent on the fact that they are Catholic in origin, but more on the same things that make any secular college liberal or conservative. In fact, now that I write this, I think they are already there.
Yes, I agree with your last sentence, it is ironic, but I can see their points on some issues. I guess the question is, are these schools Catholic anymore or not, and again, as I wrote in my first comment, it’s hard to answer because they are in a weird middle place right now, trying to straddle both worlds.
That was confusing
Need more coffee.
When I said in the first paragraph “they are already there” I was referring to the fact that whether or not they are conservative or liberal is not dependent on the fact they are Catholic, but all of the other things.
I still think they are in a weird middle ground right now, hence the conflict from both sides.
Some maybe
I’m not sure what particular schools you are thinking of that are now more secular than Catholic, but what I’m saying is, at least in my little corner of the Catholic University world, I can’t imagine the place becoming NOT Catholic. It’s such a massive part of the university culture. If anything, we are becoming MORE Catholic, even as the priest shortage means that there are more and more lay people in charge. As long as you don’t equate being Catholic with mind control and total lack of freedom, which I don’t think most Catholic universities do… at least not any that I know of that are also academically strong.
I guess it also depends on what elements of the University you think are more secular than Catholic. Curriculum? Campus ministry? Student behavior? Majority of faculty embracing the values? If you are measuring by how many students have premarital sex, you’d probably say the place is not Catholic. But if you are measuring it by how many theology courses they have to take or by the way faculty integrate the values into the classroom, it most definitely is.
Well
Well, actually, I would define a true Catholic college as one that is faithful to the Magisterium in all of the aspects that you mentioned. And I would say there are only a handful in the country at this point.
As far as intellectual freedom and “mind control,” I don’t believe a Catholic college can declare itself “free” from the teachings of the Church. That just doesn’t make sense to me.
That is fine if that’s what a college wants to do, but then it is not a Catholic college anymore.
Hmm…
I guess what I have seen since my Catholic school days is a conflict between liberation theologians — a Catholicism based on civil rights and economic social justice — and that based on social conservatism (gay marriage, abortion) brought on from pressure by evangelical Christians like Jerry Falwell and James Dobson. When I was growing up — and DH, too — we were definitely surrounded by liberation theologians, which unfortunately, appears to be a dying breed limited to the Catholic universities. DH told me that the Vatican is even shutting down nun orders that are too liberal. Truly a shame as I definitely consider them Catholic.
I guess I consider Catholicism believing in Mary, Jesus and the saints and doing good for others. That is why I do think gay people and feminists can be Catholic, too.
Also…
we had non-Catholics attend our school in Miami. They attended mass with us, but were never forced to convert. Our religion teacher taught us that “Catholic” means “universal” and that ALL are welcome to receive a good education and worship with us. I certainly hope this continues to be the case.
question
I don’t think it’s about who attends, but what the school itself is. What does it mean to be a Catholic college? Each college has its own interpretation of that, and that is the issue. I don’t think the conservatives are right on this one, and I’m not sure the liberals are right either.
Just for the record, I would not be supportive of my children attending any Catholic college of any sort. I’m also happy that we’re using public school and doing our own faith education at home and in our parish versus a Catholic school.
Good question…
I always assumed it had the academic rigor of any college plus maybe some theology courses as prerequisites. Perhaps Sherishu would have more insight into that?
But I do know that there are many highly ranked Catholic colleges that compete with any other college: Georgetown, Boston College, Notre Dame. I agree with you that I don’t think their focus is necessarily to churn out more Catholics — to the ire of conservative Catholics — but offer the best possible education to its students. I would be thrilled if my children were accepted into any of these institutions.
However…
like any other college, I am sure Catholic colleges are hit or miss, too. I didn’t mean to imply that ALL Catholic colleges are awesome by default. But the ones I named are definitely up there with other other types of colleges, including public and secular.
Oh definitely
Those are great schools that you mentioned, and there are more. I wouldn’t consider them Catholic schools anymore though.
I don’t think that is necessarily a bad thing. Harvard used to be a Christian school once too. It’s ok to move on and redefine, and maybe that’s what most of these schools should do.
I think that’s right
Maybe I should switch from talking about what makes my school Catholic to talking about what makes it Jesuit, because that’s the particular brand of Catholic University that I am familiar with. Here, it’s believed that even if you are not Catholic, you can embrace Jesuit values (care for the whole person, a service ethic, being on the side of the oppressed, always trying to reach excellence, etc). Curriculum, all kinds of programming, expectations for working with students, etc are underpinned by these values. We talk about it constantly. No getting away from Jesuit values here, which means issues of faith are everpresent. BUT we also deal with the real world and don’t shy away from debating issues. Women as priests, for example, can be looked at as an appropriate Catholic topic of debate with social justice on one side and the church’s official position on the other.
The Jesuit schools I know of are academically rigorous, student centered, and require theology classes. They don’t require attendance at mass or any other religious observance.
Curious
Why?
My husband, who was raised Catholic and had 12 years of Cath. school but doesn’t believe, did attend a Catholic university for grad school but he might as well have attended a secular school; i.e. the Catholic aspect didn’t make any difference, and it was a good school.
I am a nonbeliever and never have been a believer (one side of my family is Catholic but practicing stopped a generation above me) but I wouldn’t rule out a Catholic school for my kids if it is otherwise a good fit.
really? wow
I would venture to guess that by that definition, there have really never been very many truly Catholic colleges. And, probably, very few truly Catholic nuns or priests. I’m not Catholic, but my understanding is that the faith has a long tradition of debate and dissent built in. Catholic scholars often disagree with the vatican on issues and are still truly Catholic. It’s not declaring yourself free of the teachings of the church to disagree with some teachings. Catholicism pervades all aspects of my campus culture, but I don’t know of any Catholic colleges that require people to adhere to particular beliefs or behaviors in order to attend or work there (I suppose there may be some that I’m not aware of). We see ourselves as helping students integrate spirituality with the rest of their lives, which includes questioning and being critical. It’s not about indoctrination. The desire for indoctrination is what is NOW starting to disrupt our campus culture with outside groups wanting to control what goes on here.
sorry–wrong place for this
It was meant after NJ mom’s comment about truly catholic colleges as adhering to the Magisterium.