I was born a cradle Catholic. I have gone to a private religious school my entire life and am currently enrolled in a religious college. Even though I will be at a religious school until I graduate, it is important to note that I am indeed non-religious. I do not practice, nor do I align my beliefs, with any religion. Knowing this, it often comes as a surprise to people that I willingly chose to attend The Catholic University of America. As a result, over the course of my education, I’ve learned a few important techniques to thriving as a non-religious student at a religious campus.
The most important thing about functioning as a non-religious student at a Catholic school is respect. When you are surrounded by people who do not share your mindset on religion or spirituality, it is easy to acquire a mindset of being part of a minority and to feel obligated to stand up for your point of view. But the majority of time it’s not worth the fight and the enemies you make as a result are generally wonderful people and shouldn’t be treated as enemies in the first place.
The next key to being successful at a religious university is being tolerant. Understand that other people have different ideas about life as the result of nurturing different beliefs and know that they may approach things differently. But different and wrong are not synonymous and the majority of the time that you will find that your actions serve as a mirror, and when people see you treat them with tolerance they in turn practice tolerance and respect where you are concerned.
The last thing a non-religious student needs to remember to be successful at a religious university is forgiveness. Over the course of your time in a religious school many people will approach you and say any number of things that are offensive. The most offensive thing said to me was something along the lines of how I must have been denied from school I actually wanted to attend, so I settled for CUA. Usually, these comments aren’t intentional, just thoughtless. And usually, it isn’t worth letting yourself get butt-hurt about it. You will spend much more time than necessary dwelling on comments that likely weren’t thought out when they were spoken.
Choosing my university was the easiest decision in the world. The day I was accepted was the day I knew I was going to The Catholic University of America. There was nothing to dislike. The campus was beautiful, the university would train me well for grad school and the personality of the school made me feel at home, even before it became my home. I am non-religious and don’t intend to take up any religion any time soon. I chose Catholic for a surplus of great reasons and not being part of the religious majority won’t shape how I feel about my school, or make me cynical. Being a non-religious student at a religious university allowed me to see that you don't need to be religious to embrace love, compassion and forgiveness.
