Can College Make One Atheist? A Few Thoughts

[DL82]

Speaking as someone who is a graduate student and occasionally teaches at a secular university that is responsible for Catholic teacher education, I don’t think there’s necessarily anything about University that makes people atheists, and it’s dangerous to start to think that way. The Catholic Church has always valued learning and wisdom, and the University as we know it is a Catholic invention, one we shouldn’t turn our backs on.

It’s really important for Catholic students to have a good chaplaincy, not only one that provides a social environment to meet other Catholics (I do worry sometimes about students who only ever hang out with other Catholics at the chaplaincy, because they are only putting off the inevitable interaction with those who have different values, which is part of the richness of University life - only they will know when they are ready for that interaction though, so it’s not for me to judge) but also a chaplaincy that will put on courses and events to help students develop their faith in line with their growing intellects. Many of the students on the Catholic teacher courses begin with a really infantile understanding of God, God as the man with a long beard sitting on a cloud, which they got during their sacramental preparation as 7 or 8 year olds, and nobody ever really took the time before to help them grow out of it. As they start to explore the intellectual richness of the Catholic faith and Tradition, their doubts disappear and their faith deepens. As Catholics, we have a duty to develop our faith in line with our intellect, as a University graduate, you are expected to have a mature mind, if you still have a childish faith alongside that, your faith life will be divorced from the rest of your interior life.

It’s also really important for parents to give their children a sense of self-discipline, and that’s different from just laying down strict rules. I see so many students who arrive at Mass on the first weekend of term, because their parents are helping them move into their dorms, then they never come back, because they’ve always thought of Mass as something they do with (or maybe for) their parents, not something they do on their own for God. Some do come back later in their studies, but it’s always dangerous to wander away from the Sacraments, and if they’ve never felt a personal connection with that truth then sadly for some the only way they will find it out is the hard way.

Of course, that’s a personal opinion. I think we are blessed here in the UK that most of our Universities are still broad communities, which, while they have their hard-drinking party side, and more than their fair share of secularism and cynicism, still cultivate something of the intellectual life. I do worry about some institutions in the United States that are labelled a “party school” or where entire faculties are controlled by a single radical agenda, that seems a misunderstanding of the ‘universal’ character which a University ought to have.

 

[jmcrae]

Speaking as someone who is a graduate student and occasionally teaches at a secular university that is responsible for Catholic teacher education, I don’t think there’s necessarily anything about University that makes people atheists, and it’s dangerous to start to think that way. The Catholic Church has always valued learning and wisdom, and the University as we know it is a Catholic invention, one we shouldn’t turn our backs on.

I think it was G. K. Chesterton who pointed out that ignorance is not the goal of higher education, and if all the Universities are teaching is that the students should say “I don’t know” to the question of whether or not there is a God, then something is going seriously wrong.

I, too, ran into many, many professors who were actively anti-Christian, and who seemed to make a point in every lecture, regardless of the subject, to belittle the Christian faith and its adherents, regardless of denomination.

It’s really important for Catholic students to have a good chaplaincy, not only one that provides a social environment to meet other Catholics (I do worry sometimes about students who only ever hang out with other Catholics at the chaplaincy, because they are only putting off the inevitable interaction with those who have different values, which is part of the richness of University life - only they will know when they are ready for that interaction though, so it’s not for me to judge) but also a chaplaincy that will put on courses and events to help students develop their faith in line with their growing intellects.

I’m glad that they have the opportunity to do that. I often felt like Elijah in the wilderness, when I was at school - the only believer in the entire world.

Many of the students on the Catholic teacher courses begin with a really infantile understanding of God, God as the man with a long beard sitting on a cloud, which they got during their sacramental preparation as 7 or 8 year olds, and nobody ever really took the time before to help them grow out of it. As they start to explore the intellectual richness of the Catholic faith and Tradition, their doubts disappear and their faith deepens. As Catholics, we have a duty to develop our faith in line with our intellect, as a University graduate, you are expected to have a mature mind, if you still have a childish faith alongside that, your faith life will be divorced from the rest of your interior life.

This is why on-going formation at home, Catholic schools, and Youth groups are so important, as well.

It’s also really important for parents to give their children a sense of self-discipline, and that’s different from just laying down strict rules. I see so many students who arrive at Mass on the first weekend of term, because their parents are helping them move into their dorms, then they never come back, because they’ve always thought of Mass as something they do with (or maybe for) their parents, not something they do on their own for God.

Right. A lot of kids seem to imbibe the idea that, “Well, if God is everywhere, then I don’t have to go to Mass to be with God, so therefore, I don’t have to go to Mass.”

 

[KarenElissa]

Since this seems to be a lot of complaining about college life, I thought I’d throw in a bit of a defense. The biggest thing is choose a college wisely. I went to a small liberal arts college that was affiliated with a church, but not strictly Christian. Meaning we had a campus minister and chapel every week and plenty of Christian groups, but none of that was in any way required, for either students of professors.

I never really felt my faith was being destroyed, and judging from friends, my experience was not uncommon. We were encouraged to think and question, but not in a let your brains fall out kind of way. We were encouraged to go beyond the reading and spitting back the information kind of thinking that you have primarily in High School, and move to a more adult kind of thinking where you gather information and are able form opinions about things and to explain and defend them on your own. There were professors who were strong and active Christians and those who weren’t at all and everything in between, but I never really felt looked down upon for my beliefs.

Same way with students, there were plenty that were fairly heavily into the drinking and partying and sex, but there were LOTS of people who were not. We all got a long fine in classes and such and there was never really any pressure to do that kind of thing. If you weren’t interested, you just hung out with others who were in your free time. No big deal.

I guess my point is that while there are plenty of bad experiences with colleges, there are also some really good ones out there. Consider smaller liberal arts schools instead of HUGE state schools. Visit, ask questions, sit in on classes, know what you are getting into.

 

[BrickRoux]

I think that this is a talk that most parents should have with their children starting in the teens. At the same time, as an educator, I urge everyone to become as educated as possible.

I converted to Catholicism between college and graduate school. I was brought up Episcopalian, but at the time, but regardless of the denomination, my mother wanted me to keep my faith in God and Jesus Christ fully intact. She was a very smart, very educated woman, and prized education - but prized faith more. She warned me about professors and told me that nothing I learn about God’s Creation should make me doubt him less. There are great articles about professors of science, here in today’s world, who believe in God the more they poke around in the solar system or the subatomic structure. I wish I could find their names, but I’m sure a cursory Google search could churn them up (and maybe a fellow poster knows!)

What I love about the Church is its devotion to intellectual inquiry. It’s not afraid to examine the logic behind its systems and beliefs! So many denominations are. I have come across so many priests and nuns who are just mind-blowingly literate and articulate in all kinds of things, interested and learned about world religions and physics and poetry and the whole gamut. They are a joy to speak to.

I don’t think that we should bury our heads in the sand. We have to deal with the world. How can we deal with the problem of terrorism if we don’t understand Islam? How can we deal with the problem of societal spiritual malaise if we don’t understand historically how it happened? Jesus went out and purposefully interacted with the greedy and the hookers and the forsaken. I was a literature and poetry major, too; it brings you into close contact with the despair of the postmodern condition, or the human condition, and makes you reflect on your faith. Professors can be extremely rude, but let’s not lump them all together. I’ve had some brilliant, faithful teachers who allowed me to write on Graham Greene, G.K. Chesterton, Walker Percy, Evelyn Waugh, etc. You have to be strong, and I pray that Catholic students can find a way.

Parents - start talking about the crossroads of intellect and faith early! And hey - there’s always Catholic college. The more we support them, the stronger they’ll get.