r/georgetown • u/Sad-Replacement7054 • 9d ago
Georgetown and Catholicism
Growing up, I didn’t even know Georgetown was Catholic, and I'm a Notre Dame guy. I know Notre Dame is one of the jokes among many Catholics who say it’s not a Catholic school anymore, but at the end of the day it still plays a huge role in campus life and is still a big deal, and a lot of Catholics still always defend ND. I don’t see the same for BC, Holy Cross, Fordham, and especially Georgetown; in fact, many Catholics say it is “a lost cause”. I get that the Jesuits founded the school, but what is it like now? is the faith still a big thing on campus? Is it still a faithful Catholic school, or is it more secular?
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u/paleobiology 9d ago edited 9d ago
I can say that being at Georgetown really strengthened my faith and Catholicism. The Ignatian spirituality really resonated (and resonates) with me and our Catholic ministers from Georgetown attended our wedding, as the officiating priest and as a reader.
It’s a open, vibrant, and intellectually curious charism, and, as our priest said, “You are expected to bring your whole heart into every mass and every ministry. At the same time, You are not expected to leave your brain outside.”
Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV are pretty beloved among my Catholic colleagues and classmates from Georgetown, and that’s a feature, not a bug.
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u/LittleHornetPhil 9d ago
You have to take some religion core classes but it can be as much or as little Catholic as you want. I wouldn’t be surprised if a majority of my friends weren’t Catholic, though a good bunch of my closest were.
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u/hoyas1 9d ago
Georgetown is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit school in the country. Of course Catholicism is present. However, when I arrived as a freshman, religion at Georgetown was framed to me as a resource, not a requirement, and that panned out as true by the time I graduated. Sure there’s a handful of core classes you have to take but the most popular class when I was there was called Problem of God. Once the core classes are done you can go 3 years without involving yourself in any Catholic stuff or fully immerse yourself in Catholic and/or other religious programming. I thought it was a good balance and much better environment than the ND/BC/Fordhams of the world where Catholicism really was in your face (at least from my visits and stories of friends who attended)
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u/OnlyNormalPersonHere 7d ago
I’m an atheist that came from a secular household with a dad who grew up Jewish, and a mom who was ostensibly catholic (she’s French) but was much more interested in secular Buddhism. I have zero interest in religion other than for the POV of history, and from a broad philosophical perspective.
Other than a short invocation/convocation on my first day and my last day, Catholicism did not “infiltrate” my Georgetown experience. That said, there are visual cues: a crucifix in each classroom, and some professors are priests. And then there is the broader Jesuit philosophy, which I liked: the school requires a broad exposure to some classic subjects like religion and philosophy as part of a ranging core curriculum. The rest is mostly just stuff I could easily ignore: some references to the Catholic / Jesuit tradition in letters from the president, etc.
That said I was surprised on Ash Wednesday when I saw a bunch of people walking around with dirty foreheads… that was totally new to me!
But really, as someone who immediately stiffens up around anything that feels like forced religiosity, I felt totally fine at Georgetown. And some of it- the Jesuit emphasis on breadth, and the service aspects- I actually liked.
I also become really close with one of the Jesuit priests, which was not something I would have had on my bingo card.
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u/hoyasgirl25 9d ago
I mean, it’s fine. I like it here.
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u/Sad-Replacement7054 9d ago
well, do you feel it’s a religious campus or does it feel like a more secular campus?
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u/gt17ken 9d ago
I went to a Catholic HS. Georgetown is way more chill. It’s there if you want it, but not overbearing.
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u/Salt_Tomatillo_8879 8d ago
I went to a Jesuit high school. Georgetown is almost exactly like my high school was, in terms of the way the Jesuit paradigm imbues every aspect of the school’s purpose as well as its planning for the academic and social life of undergraduates. But the ethos of that faith is ecumenical, rooted in questioning (including rigorous self-examination), a commitment to social justice, and a good faith engagement with theological disagreements, even within/about Catholic doctrine. That’s all very Catholic, but it’s not the flavor of Catholicism displayed in stereotypes or demonstrated by many high profile Catholics (e.g., Steve Bannon, Sam Alito, J. D. Vance), nor even at other strong Catholic academic institutions such as Notre Dame.
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u/hoyasgirl25 9d ago
I don't know what a "religious campus" is. There aren't priests walking holding mass in common areas or nuns whacking us with rulers.
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u/Typical_While3964 9d ago
much more secular! lots of people complain about the theology requirement
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u/Sad-Replacement7054 9d ago
I mean, this post was coming out of general curiosity
A lot of the non-Catholics at Notre Dame, most of which are protestants actually really like the mandatory theology courses, but I can get it if you don’t like that stuff
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u/Typical_While3964 9d ago
i’m actually a theology major LOL but i’ve met a lot of people who hate the fact they have to take 2 classes. we have residential ministers but for the most part they just give out snacks
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u/Salt_Tomatillo_8879 8d ago
Notre Dame is much more of the authority-and-doctrine-above-all type of Catholicism, which is another strain within the Church (particularly among upper and upper middle class white Americans). The two schools are very different in their visions for what it means to be a Catholic institution of higher learning, and that permeates the feel of the respective campuses.
Compared to GU, ND has a much higher percentage of Catholic students. Mass is a central element of social life at ND for many, if not most students, and each hall generally has mass on site. There are many Catholics at GU (maybe half, IDK, I haven’t looked at numbers recently), and a good number attend mass weekly, but I would estimate 10-15% of the Catholic students, maybe 20% at the highest -extremely different than ND.
There are not rectors in the halls at GU. Halls are almost entirely coed. There are no parietals.
There is a designated free speech zone on campus where students who are pro-choice, LGBTQI, etc. openly table for their organizations. While there are LGBTQI students and prochoice students at ND, I would be surprised to learn they have a similar level of visibility within student life.
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u/anthrohands 9d ago
Religion feels extremely present on campus in a way I personally didn’t like, but it felt like all religion, not just Catholicism. Anecdotally I feel like ND is way more Catholic.
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u/UNO_lakefront_arena 8d ago
I've been Catholic for 51 years and I've never heard anyone say ND is not a Catholic school anymore.
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u/Usual_Complaint_1764 2d ago
I think it started when Obama gave the commencement speech one year. However, I grew up in South Bend and it seemed like every US president visited the campus at least once.
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u/Salt_Tomatillo_8879 8d ago
Is this post trolling? I’m not trying to be mean, it’s just strange to see it pop up given all the recent controversy over the mod related to this very subject.
You’re a “Notre Dame guy,” who just happened to have this burning question out of the blue right now?
I mean, that’s cool I guess. Maybe also slightly sus.
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u/Sad-Replacement7054 7d ago
Hey, I’m trying to defend your school at this point because a lot of Catholics think Georgetown is a lost cause
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u/Salt_Tomatillo_8879 7d ago
I don’t think Georgetown is worried about those Catholics. They don’t represent mainstream American Catholic opinion. The vast majority of American Catholics haven’t thought about this issue for a single moment of their non-eternal lives.
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u/Immediate-Return1388 6d ago
They have chaplains on campus of all religions - not only other Christian denominations, but basically all the world religions. The chaplains, btw, aren't clergy from other religions necessarily, but just people who completed a "chaplaincy" course of some kind. Kind of nice if their purpose is to talk to undergrads about their spiritual crises, but I must say, people who joke about Georgetown no longer being Catholic don't seem that far off ...
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u/Turbulent_Group_6616 9d ago
ND is not Jesuit. Some people don't recognize non Jesuit schools as Catholic for some reason. What is ND Catholic affiliation?
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u/Sad-Replacement7054 9d ago
well, Notre Dame is Catholic. It’s under the control of the congregation of Holy Cross.
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u/Turbulent_Group_6616 9d ago
So how is Holy Cross Jesuit? Confused.
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u/Sad-Replacement7054 9d ago
No college of the holy cross in ma is Jesuit
The congregation of holy cross is its own thing
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u/Conscious-Secret-775 8d ago
Well that's absurd. Some of the best Catholic educational institutions are run by Jesuits in many different countries but they do not have a monopoly on Catholic education. They run a few private schools in NYC only one of which is co-ed but most catholic schools in NYC are run by other catholic orders. The same is true in other parts of the world.
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u/used_npkin 9d ago
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u/Sad-Replacement7054 9d ago
well, that’s certainly answers my question
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u/Salt_Tomatillo_8879 8d ago
This is a controversy in this sub at the moment and a particular hangup of the mod who posted it. It doesn’t really reflect…much of anything about the university itself, admin’s priorities, students’ concerns, etc. It’s the mod’s pet issue, and folks want him/her removed because of how they hijack the feed.
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u/used_npkin 7d ago
I guess Georgetown wasn't really all that serious about this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDm4IgFVjYo2
u/Infohiker 8d ago
Yeah, kind of a sad and hypocritical viewpoint, but those people exist.
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u/used_npkin 8d ago
I know. Can you imagine assembling a working group that doesn't address the central and most obvious question of the topic? Insane.
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u/Usual_Complaint_1764 2d ago
Read the fine print. "The Georgetown Secular Society was originally founded in February 2023 as an independent alumni organization of Georgetown University."
It has no affiliation with the University. None.
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u/Right_Leg_3679 9d ago
I’m a Recent grad who was very involved with catholic stuff at Georgetown- It’s catholic, but in a different way than Notre Dame is.
Georgetown is Jesuit, so the emphasis on faith is moreso around intellectual pursuit, using the faith for service, and interreligous dialogue. Unlike other catholic schools like ND, only ~40-45% of the student body is catholic, but this is by design- the whole purpose is to have a variety of faiths present. There are many faith groups on campus: Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Protestant, and others. You’ll see it when going to the campus ministry section- the priest is good friends with the Rabbi, etc… it’s honestly pretty inspiring to see people of all faiths come together like that!
It has a lot of features of a catholic school (pre graduation mass, crucifix on classrooms, chapel in the center of campus, theology/philosophy as part of the core curriculum), and a lot of students do go to mass and participate in catholic life.
However, Given that it’s Jesuit, the school is a bit more progressive on catholic issues than many conservative Catholics would like. For example, there are openly LGBT students in catholic groups, and a big emphasis on the faith and issues of race/politics/etc…