I always seem to be coming across people at work who’ve graduated from the Wesleyan University of XYZ or went to Such-and-such Lutheran High School and so on. Just wondering really, is religion generally a large or unnoticeable element in these kinds of places or somewhere in between?
For context I’m from the UK; as far as I know we don’t have explicitly religious universities owned by a faith group outside of theology colleges, but a lot of primary and secondary schools are officially religious. In Anglican schools this usually means a few hymns and occasional church visit; in Catholic schools it’s a bit stronger. Both types have first preference for students of their faith but are otherwise open to all for any untaken places.
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I went to an episcopal school for middle school, we had chapel every Wednesday for an hour. We also had to take a religion class where they taught us bible stories and stuff, I think… it’s been a while.
Religious school are usually private schools
My wife went to private schools because her mom wanted her to have the best education. The schools were religious. She ended up going to a Jesuit college for her first 2 years. It was at that college while talking with one of her professors that she realized she wasn’t religious. The professor told her that she had to decide what was best for her.
None at all in public or government funded schools. For colleges and universities it just depends on how much the students and faculty want to express
There are religious affiliated universities and bible colleges.
Religious affiliated universities are usually secular in most aspects and always private. I attended one, and I´d see a monk wandering around now and then, it was basically just like any other small, expensive, liberal arts university. It wasn´t meaningfully different than the public university I attended except I didn´t get HPV this time.
Bible colleges are usually pretty zealous and have iffy accreditations, if they´re accredited at all. Those are the ones where they teach creationism and are basically religious indoctrination camps with a thin veneer of academics, as a treat.
I went to a Jesuit school and we had religion classes but it was basically world religions history and a psychology class.
It wasn’t Catholic catechism.
We did have a retreat that was very religious, open to anyone of any faith or none at all (about half the students weren’t Catholic). Most juniors and seniors went on it.
Other Catholic schools in Indianapolis had a more explicitly Catholic education with catechism and chapel (going to a Catholic prayer service on a regular schedule).
At public schools religious instruction is not at all common and the most you would get is a world religions class (at least in my experience but we have thousands of school districts with a lot of variation).
Universities are similarly diverse. Georgetown is a Jesuit university but is fairly similar to any non-religious institution. Then you have something like Brigham Young which is very explicitly Mormon or Thomas Aquinas College which is very explicitly Catholic.
Its the same here. Only private schools can and will be religious in nature.
Public universities and lower schools can not, by definition, be religious instructing.
It varies greatly.
Some universities and colleges are very specifically religious or have a specific doctrine
Others are nominally affiliated with…something but you can barely tell.
Some it just means you have to attend a religion course.
Same with primary/K-12 school.
I went to a Catholic school and besides religion course (which was mostly about Catholicism but did touch on other Abrahamic religions), and having to attend mass every week or so, it was still an education. It didn’t impact curriculum at all. Anyone who could pay the tuition could attend, though Catholics did get a slight discount.
The Jesuit high school in town is nominally religious but actually had a break from the Catholic archdiocese over employing those in same-sex marriages. they didn’t really get funding from the Archdiocese, and the Jesuits have long had an antagonistic relationship with the overall Catholic Church.
I thought collective worship was mandatory at public schools in the UK?
In public schools there’s really no religious involvement at all.
I went to private Catholic schools until college. Aside from wearing uniforms, religion classes, and going to Mass it wasn’t much different from public schools except for the tuition and the fact that my sister and I went to the same single-sex high schools our parents did; mine was all-boys and hers was all-girls.
There are some but you don’t have to go to those.
There are colleges/universities affiliated with a particular religion and they might have different rules about things such as co-ed dorms or at least co-ed floors in dorms, drinking on campus, etc. They might offer church services on campus.
Secular universities, usually don’t. They don’t forbid religion or its expression in private ways either.
Primary schools, kindergarten through 12th grade (graduating high school), typically are public. Public is state funded. They became strict in many locations about even mentioning God, or religion, or allowing prayers, during class time : ( (Even privately.)
Religious affiliated schools are not state funded (or might receive some but not enough), and so have tuition. Some have scholarships but those go quickly. They can set their own rules about most things including religious teaching.
I didn’t go to a school affiliated directly with religion, but I’ve heard, for instance in a Catholic parochial/primary school (grade or elementary level), the kids go to mass in the morning. But parents know that and going there is elective, a choice. There are often waiting lists to matriculate there.
The private schools are often regarded as offering better education, while being safer.
Anywhere from “in name only” to “You are required to attend an approved church on a regular basis”.
Basically none if you’re going to a public school
I think it really depends on the school you’re talking about.
There are religiously affiliated schools that are excellent. For example, Notre Dame is a Catholic school. Yes it’s affiliated with the Catholic Church. But it’s not like I’d you’re bored Catholic you can’t go there or they’ll force Catholicism on you. It’s a very elite school for reasons unrelated to its religious affiliation.
Entirely depends on the university. At some, it’s an overriding presence with strict rules, mandatory religious service attendance and such but at many it’s hardly anything other than maybe there’s a chapel of that denomination on campus.
I went to a Methodist-affiliated university and it played no part in campus life/experience. The church on campus was Methodist, but also used for non-religious events with a curtain over the cross, even used for Jewish High Holiday services since the university student body was about 1/3 Jewish.
If the school is a private school that is affiliated with a specific denomination you will find a lot. They will have religion classes, and may even have daily or weekly worship services on campus. For the Universities that are religiously affiliated many of them are Seminaries for the given affiliated denomination.
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At a public institution? Zero. At a private one? Depends if it is a religious school or not.
In grammar school and high school it was basically an extra class for religion, saying prayers at the beginning of the day, and required mass for things like holy days of obligation.
In college it was even less required. We had to take two religion classes before graduation, but topics varied so you could get something like history of world religions or anthropological and sociological study of a religion or philosophical basis of religion. There were a lot of other religious aspects, but they were all voluntary. The most annoying thing for my non-practicing friends was that the dining hall didn’t have meat on fridays in lent, and that was a total first world problem that they usually solved by going to a restaurant off campus.
I can tell you my bro made be go to a Oral Roberts University weekend for prospective students. (a lot like LIberty University)
Coming from Mass that is a bit irreligious (despite me going to Catholic school), it seemed surreal. You have to go to church every day in this giant auditorium. You have a seat. If your seat is empty you get fined. Empty 3 times and you are kicked out of school.
The rules were crazy like no dancing, etc.
Herein Mass at religious Colleges, they sorta have the same rules as regular colleges, just a little bit more enforced. Like no one is allowed to drink in the dorms. Just more likely to have someone that cares when going to St Mary’s College.
ANd now? I bet all the stuff that includes folks like genderless bathrooms, etc — I am sure none of that inclusiveness stuff is happening at most religious schools.
My university (Emory) is Methodist. This means that there is a Methodist church on campus, a certain number of trustees are Methodist bishops, and the school of theology is mostly Methodist. There is no practical difference vis-a-vis a secular school beyond these.
However, on the other hand, there are other universities such as BYU and Liberty where the situation is radically different
I lived in England. You guys have *far* more religious affiliations in your public universities than many privates do here. Like many British people I met, you’re just sort of blind to it because you think of it as normal. When I lived in Cambridge, they served Sunday church suppers in the cafeterias, all the colleges had churches with choirs, prayers were openly said, and Christmas practically shut down the country. I mean, you have a *state religion*!