Catholic Studies at public college?

[McatholicN]

I’ve applied to a number of colleges (most of which are public) and I will be entering one of them next year. What’s the general reputation of Catholic Studies programs at public universities? Are they run by faithful Catholics or are they going to be just as liberal and anti-Catholic as everything else out there? What’s the situation? How can I continue learning about my faith in college? (I love learning about theology and Church teaching.)

 

[Warandpeace]

I’ve been to two public universities, neither of which had a major in Catholic Studies. They had philosophy, and maybe a religious studies minor. Check out the Catholic Student Centers, or a Newman Center. The active ones will have a lot of different things going on. A Newman Center will have something every day. Also see if there is FOCUS at the campus.

 

[stephe1987]

I’m guessing the programs will probably be run by liberals, which is the case at even a lot of Catholic colleges. Be sure to read reviews, maybe speak with some students and professors if it’s possible before making your final decision.

 

[Cricket2]

I attended one Community College and a 4 Year University that were public. Neither had anything more than basic philosophy studies and general religious studies. I guess I would be leery of the public setting and try to find an outside source for continued studies in this area.

 

[WildCatholic]

I think it depends. My Bishop who went to the University of Kansas, talked about how he was part of a humanities program there and while it was not specifically about Catholicism or anything like that, it was about western civilization and the great books and as a result they read the greek philosophers as well as Augustine, Aquinas, Dante, even some from new testament.

What was funny was that it not only made my bishop convert to Catholicism, but a number of people from this course converted as well, even the professors. My bishop even mentioned how the ACLU got involved because they felt it was promoting religion at a public university since one of the women in the class had converted and her father was a Unitarian minister. The courts fortunately thought it was silly and threw out the case.

So I guess the point is it depends. Find a public college with a good Newman Center. I don’t know if they have Catholic Studies (i doubt it) but if they do, The University of Nebraska in Lincoln is a great public college to be Catholic at.

 

[mdgspencer]

You could go into the bookstore of this college when you are there and look closely at the books used in this course. That is one good way checking out such a course.

 

[1ke]

I’ve never heard of a “Catholic Studies” program at a public university.

 

[Joe_5859]

I’ve never heard of a “Catholic Studies” program at a public university, though some do have courses on Catholic topics.

This is a question that is really tough to give a general answer to. At my (public) alma mater, they actually offered some religious studies classes that were taught by the staff at the local Newman Center. The teachers were very solid and those courses were as good as any of the theology classes I took at a Catholic university. But the Newman Center had a unique arrangement with the university that I don’t believe is very common (and one which the university was always trying to find a way out of).

As others have said, though, there can be plenty of opportunities at public schools to learn about the Catholic faith that aren’t in the classroom setting. Just see what the campus Newman Center offers.

 

[TheWarriorMonk]

There will be no consensus on the matter. You can get a faithful Catholic to a liberal professor that studied Catholicism, and everything inbetween. At the public university I went to they had several excellent professors that were faithful to their faith. I took several courses in Judaic studies from a Rabbi, and there was another professor that was either Eastern Orthodox or Catholic (can’t remember which, but he dressed the part).

 

[McatholicN]

Two of the major universities that I’ve applied to have Catholic Studies programs. Maybe it’s a Canadian thing. By the looks of the required courses for the one, it looks very liberal. It’s run by Jesuits, which unfortunately has some negative connotation to it.

 

[Cricket2]

Two of the major universities that I’ve applied to have Catholic Studies programs. Maybe it’s a Canadian thing. By the looks of the required courses for the one, it looks very liberal. It’s run by Jesuits, which unfortunately has some negative connotation to it.

I have heard good things about the Jesuits, so please have an open mind. Make your own assessments in that regard. I once heard the Jesuits referred to as “The Pope’s Priests.” Has anyone else heard this?