Catholic higher ed enhances Catholic identity

Oh, the Catholic Newman Society again. Outside of their recommended seven ultra-orthodox colleges they do not care for other forms of higher education.

I agree with the key part of the article:

"In short, as Yanikoski put it, "Most young adults of typical (college) undergraduate age go through a period of faith attenuation regardless of whether or where they go to college. It is a stage of life in Western society in which young women and men instinctively push against authority figures and dominant institutions as they go about finding their own social, intellectual and spiritual footing."

That is college/university in a nutshell, a time of exploration personally, spiritually, etc... You see the world and learn about yourself. The CNS model is basically Catechism school for four more years, that goes against the grain of personal exploration and growth. It is tailored to the here and now, not in line with Rome, as you would turn 95%+ of the students off of any future growth.

If you trust in the students, they will come back to their roots in the future, as long as the overall institution can relate to them.

Mr. Yankikosky has hit the proverbial nail on the head when it comes to the primary causes of "young Catholic disengagement from the church (sic). Most important and central among them, the ineffective catechesis at parish levels that we have endured since Vatican II. He is also correct in pointing out that families are less active in parish life these days, that there is a sexually provocative culture and increasing secularization. Further, rampant divorce, leaving one parent in a home where there should be two, contributes to this situation.

The answer is, of course, a return to the sources...a move back to solid catechesis (such as found in the "Faith and Life" religious ed series), including a full exposition of John Paul the Great's Theology of the Body; a return to traditional mores and family life.

The Average Catholic whether lay or Clergy, with few exceptions, already know that Catholic Higher Education at least as far as teaching and supporting the faith is concerned, is not only going astray, but has been so for decades. Academically they are some of the finest in the country, but the “Catholic” part has effectively been subverted and replaced with political correctness, secularization, and most troublesome indifference
The the Churches Values. This has also been happening at the secondary level of Catholic education. Oddly enough most of the people in charge of the system are completely blind to the situation or hostile to any suggestion that things are as bad as they are. How many students attend morning Mass? How many are urged to do so by faculty? How many would be mortified and embarrassed to suggest doing so? A classic example
Was Notre Dame. The issue was never about President Obama who has a right to his opinion. The issue was and is to this day, is Notre Dame A Catholic University that reflects the Values and Doctrines of Rome? To many, both Catholic and Non- Catholic alike , the perception is that it is no different than any other institution of higher learning.
In these lean economic times, with shrinking student enrollment, maybe this is exactly the perception the leadership of Notre Dame want—no boat rocking on abortion—but
Acceptance in the politically correct circles of society come with a high price, leaving your Catholic Identity behind.

Young Catholic disengagement from the Church has nothing to do with the code words "Catholic Identity" which have come to mean Catholic Fundamentalism. The answer is not to return to the past as Clint Green has suggested. The reason young people are no longer attracted to the Catholic Church in large numbers has more to do with the phony and backward thinking policies on such things as birth control, human sexuality, the unnatural Celibacy policy of priests and bishops and equality for women. Catholic Fundamentalism is hardly the answer to dwindling enrollments at Catholic schools and colleges, yet alone at local Sunday liturgies. "Traditional Family Values" is a code word for EXCLUSION of those who do not think EXACTLY like the right wing reactionary elements that seized control of the dialogue that was opened by the Second Vatican Council. The Church that Clint Green keeps referring to no longer exists save for the minority of right wingers who refuse to embrace the future while fighting to their last dying breath to resurrect a museum Church that led Blessed Pope John the 23rd to convene a Second Vatican Council in order to breathe new life into a dying institution. It may be taking longer than expected but a new Church will be built on the decaying foundations of the institution that the Clint Greens are trying to preserve at all costs. The Church envisioned by the Council Father of Vatican II will be INCLUSIVE and most importantly, it will reflect the teachings and examples of Jesus Christ.

Here is the list of colleges and Universities recommended by the Newman Society: Ave Maria University, Aquinas College (Tenn.), Belmont Abbey College, Benedictine College, The Catholic University of America, Christendom College, The College of Saint Thomas More (Texas), DeSales University, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Holy Apostles College & Seminary, John Paul the Great Catholic University, Magdalen College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy, St. Gregory’s University, Southern Catholic College, Thomas Aquinas College, The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts (N.H.), University of Dallas, University of St. Thomas (Texas), and Wyoming Catholic College.

Some of these colleges and universities are fine places e.g. Catholic University but others are obscure and unknown places e.g. Southern Catholic College whose website announces that

"Father Aaron (the president of the college) has no terminal academic degree and no administrative experience at the higher education level"

Is this some kind of religious scam of the Newman Society, linking obviously nationally recognized accredited colleges with obscure places like Southern Catholic College? What would the faculty of C.U. think about this linking with the faculty of SCC?

THE TRUTH:

New Study Confirms Crisis in Catholic Higher Education

Attending a Catholic college has minimal impact on a Catholic student’s practice and embrace of the Catholic faith, according to a new study released Sunday at a gathering of Catholic college presidents in Washington, D.C.

The study was presented to the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) by researchers at Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA).

“Catholics should be alarmed by the significant declines in Catholic practice and fidelity at many of America’s Catholic institutions,” said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society. “Everyone expects a Catholic college to be markedly different from a secular one. Students should be inspired to embrace and deepen their Catholic faith, not negotiate around Catholic moral teaching.”

Several Catholic colleges and universities that do in fact emphasize spiritual growth and fidelity to Catholic teaching are recommended in The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College (www.TheNewmanGuide.com). The CARA report draws on survey data from 34 Catholic institutions but does not identify them. The study considers Catholic higher education generally, but the results are not applicable to any individual institution.

The CARA study largely confirms a 2003 study released by The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS), which found significant declines in students’ support for Catholic moral teaching on abortion, marriage and sexuality after four years at a Catholic college or university. The declines were generally greater at non-Catholic private and public institutions.

According to the CARA report, 16 percent of students at Catholic colleges and universities become more pro-life and more convinced of traditional marriage, whereas 31 percent become more supportive of legal abortion and 39 percent embrace same-sex “marriage.” Only seven percent increase attendance at religious services, while 32 percent reduce attendance. Eight percent of Catholic students leave the Catholic faith while attending a Catholic institution.

But CARA researchers went a step further, considering the potential impact of a variety of demographic factors on students’ support for Catholic teaching. They found that attendance at a Catholic college has no statistically significant effect on a variety of measures, including students’ support for abortion, the death penalty and same-sex marriage. Students report some improvement in attending religious services (not necessarily Catholic), reading about religion and spirituality (not necessarily Catholic) and deeming it “important to improve the human condition”—a concern that is presumably shared outside the Catholic faith.

Commenting on the study to InsideHigherEd.com, ACCU president Richard Yanikoski argued that the loss of faith at Catholic colleges and elsewhere reflects societal trends. Despite CARA’s analysis showing that the choice of a Catholic college has little significant impact on a student’s faith practice and beliefs, Yanikoski pointed to the raw data indicating that “a typical Catholic undergraduate student attending a Catholic college or university emerges more spiritually intact than if she or he had attended a public or secular private institution, but not nearly as spiritually active as would have been the case a few decades ago.”

“That’s hardly something to celebrate,” Reilly said. “If the ACCU thinks it a happy fact that Catholics lose their faith somewhat slower at Catholic colleges than elsewhere, then they fail to appreciate the concerns of faithful Catholic families.”

In the CARA report (found at http://cara.georgetown.edu), authors Mark Gray and Melissa Cidade state their agreement with The Cardinal Newman Society’s assertion in its 2003 report: “Regardless of where students begin their college journey, Catholic colleges should be helping students move closer to Christ, and certainly doing a better job of moving students toward the Catholic faith than secular colleges do.”

In October 2008, The Cardinal Newman Society published a comprehensive study of practices and beliefs of current and recent students at Catholic colleges and universities. The study, conducted by the reputable Washington, D.C., polling firm QEV Analytics, found that:

Nearly 1 in 5 respondents knew another student who had or paid for an abortion.
46% of current and recent students—and 50% of females—said they engaged in sex outside of marriage.
84% said they had friends who engaged in premarital sex.
60% agreed strongly or somewhat that abortion should be legal.
60% agreed strongly or somewhat that premarital sex is not a sin.
78% disagreed strongly or somewhat that using a condom to prevent pregnancy was a serious sin.
57% agreed strongly or somewhat that same-sex “marriage” should be legal.
57% said the experience of attending a Catholic college or university had no effect on their participation in Mass and the sacrament of reconciliation.
54% of respondents said that their experience of attending a Catholic college or university had no effect on their support for the teachings of the Catholic Church.
56% said their experience had no effect on their respect for the Pope and bishops.

Both the 2008 and the 2003 CNS reports can be found at www.CatholicHigherEd.org.

I really don't think that people are enrolling in the upper echelon Catholic universities in order to become "better Catholics". Thanks to the hard work and vision of a lot of religious and lay educators, schools like Georgetown and Notre Dame attract students of all faiths to the prospect of a first rate education. What - are they supposed to turn into Ave Maria clones? If so, they might as well close their doors now.

Look down the list of "approved" schools in the posting above and then make a mental list of some of the more prominent Catholic universities which, I guess, have succombed to the lures of the flesh. Now which set of schools do you want your sone or daughter to consider attending? Some Vatican madrassa? or a real university? That's really what it comes down to.

It is not surprising that more students attending Catholic colleges have a "Catholic identity" than students attending non-Catholic colleges. However, I did not see if the study showed what was the cause and what was the effect. The cause could be that a higher percentage of students, who attend Catholic colleges, already have more of a Catholic identity than the percentage of those choosing non-Catholic colleges.

That being said, I am confident that there are students who attend non-Catholic colleges that have a good Catholic identity.

No problems at all- just read the study we paid for to prove it!
Is it all that heartening that students don't lose their faith as quickly at Catholic colleges than they do at non-Catholic colleges? Is that really a resounding affirmation of how these places are carrying out their mission?