College with religious affiliation other than your own

[asscherisme]

I hope this topic doesn't break the rules. Its not about religion, but rather about college choice.

If you had an opportunity to attend a college close to home and had an almost full ride scholarship would it bother you if the college had a religious affiliation that was different than your own?

 

[jordyonbass]

In my opinion it is a bit of a moot point; you're there for education, not spirituality.

 

[TooPatient]

Depends on how integrated the religion is in the classes. Some happen to be but others are very centered around. The first I would be okay with but not the second.

 

[VRBeauty]

Many colleges with religious origins are basically secular, with the exception of course of the religious studies departments. I wouldn't hesitate to attend a college of this sort irrespective of my religious affiliation vis. that of the college. However, in some religiously based colleges, students are required to take quite a few Bible and religion-based classes as part of their coursework, as well as being required to participate in chapel or related religious practices. In this case I would be hesitant to attend the college if I didn't think I could participate respectfully. But that's just my humble opinion offered from the standpoint of one who doesn't have to make that choice. That said, if the college is offering a substantial scholarship, they're doing it because they want that student, not because they're hoping for a convert.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Like TooPatient, for me it would depend on how much religion interfered with academics. The local Catholic university is well regarded and has no overlap between teaching and religion. I would attend it without reserve. There are other schools where students are expected to lead their private lives according to the faith's views (no drinking, dancing, etc even outside school grounds). I would not attend.

 

[aviastar]

Lady D has it for me exactly, too. My DH attended a small Catholic university for a two years- he's not religious at all - but the classroom education, even when taught by monks, was excellent and his private life was his to determine. He eventually transferred because it was too small, but the religion part didn't seem to bother him.

I chose NOT to attend a school affiliated with my OWN religion because I found the private life expectations from the school to not be a good match for my personality. I had many friends attend and absolutely thrive because it was a good personality and culture match up anyway, but it would have been disastrous for me.

Check the honor code and the code of conduct, that's where you usually find this kind of expectation laid out so you can figure out it the expectations/requirements made of students are going to interfere with your personal practices.

 

[amc80]

I think it would really depend on my level of religiousness, as well as that of the school. For example, if I were a staunch agnostic or atheist, I probably wouldn't go somewhere like BYU (not that an atheist is likely to get the required recommendation anyway). But a school that is technically Catholic but doesn't require religious courses? Sure.

 

[ruby59]

My daughter is Jewish. She received a 3/4 scholarship to Providence College, a Catholic college in our home state.

You are required there to take a liberal arts course, and part of that is Catholic philosophy and Bible teachings. She hesitated to go because not attending Sunday school or Church she had no background in the new Testament or its teachings. She also wore a Star of David and wondered if it would make her stick out.

But it ended up to be a wonderful experience. The priests, realizing she was Jewish, extended her extra help if she needed it. They overlooked the way she spelled G-d, and even smiled when her explanations veered into Judaism rather than the Catholic philosophy. While she was certainly invited to attend and did, going to the Chapel was not mandatory. She made wonderful friends from different backgrounds, and received a great education at little cost.

 

[ame]

I personally could not and would not attend a school with any religious affiliation. I cannot take a school's educational credibility seriously if they are affiliated with any sort of religion. For me, there will always be some underlying indoctrination in there. I know with some schools, there are requirements of all students to perform some level of religious service and missionary work.

 

[KaeKae]

My daughter goes to a small, conservative Christian college in New England.

Students are required to take two or three (I forget) religion courses, including New and Old Testament (two separate classes.) and attend a certain number of chapel hours per semester. (She assures me it's easy to acquire those hours, she learned do so early in the semester.)
She does have to sign a yearly agreement to not smoke/drink/do drugs/have sex outside of marriage. She knew this before making the choice to attend there. The dorms are co-ed by floor.

The school is non-denominational and more conservative than our own church and personal views. It has not been a problem for her. While a part of me does wish she would have more interaction with people of non-christian backgrounds, she has known people of many faiths all her life, and I know she will again go to school and work with people from a greater variety of backgrounds when she moves on to grad school. I think it's worth it for the small, personal community she has now. It's best for her learning style.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I went to a college in "The Dominican Catholic Tradition". I had zero issues whatsoever and I actually found it fun to have some priests and nuns as professors. I had a fair share of them actually and it was just fine with me. I am an atheist.

ETA I was required to take one religion class but there were many to choose from, in the end it was more philosophy than any specific religion and I had no problems with the class despite having zero background in any religion.

 

[jordyonbass]

I wonder if it is a similar situation with public/private/christian education in the US as it is here in Australia:

Public schools: no religion, education standards typically low and free/low cost.
Private schools: no religion, high education standard and high cost
Private christian schools: Somewhere in the middle between public and private schools as far as standards and costs, with religion thrown in

If you don't want to send your child to a public school but can't afford $20k/year for a private school, some private religious schools may be a better compromise. But that is only if you're willing to sacrafice a percentage of education time for religious events within the institution, something that I personally would not be OK with for myself or my children as they are usually compulsory. Religion has no place in education IMO (with maybe the exception of courses where holy texts are read as literature).

 

[minousbijoux]

As I read the title of the thread, I thought I had nothing to add as it had no relevance to my own experience. But then I forgot that one of the universities I attended, and from which I got my undergraduate degree, was a Jesuit University, ha ha! I loved my university and while my favorite professor was a priest, it was secular teaching. I would absolutely do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[asscherisme]

Thanks for the perspective. My oldest had on a whim applied and got the scholarship and turned it down. My 2nd child thought he was foolish and also plans on applying there next year and if she gets a large scholarship would consider it.

I'll have to look with her into more details into how much it permeates the school and how much it permeates daily life. Good point about codes of conduct. Its close to home so if she went there she would live at home to save money.