Thoughts about theology and being agnostic in a Jesuit community
When I was looking at colleges, one of my original criteria was that the school had no religious affiliation. I thought that it would cloud my education and be a waste of my money to take classes where I had to learn about something that, being agnostic, I didn’t even agree with. A few years later, I am attending a Jesuit institution that I consider my home and I am enrolled in a mandatory theology course that I enjoy very much. Many of my friends who attend public universities seem shocked that I have to learn about religion in college and have a difficult time understanding why I decided to attend a religious university. Here’s why…
I fell in love with my school since the second I set foot on campus. It has beautiful architecture and Midwestern charm in the middle of a huge city, it’s perfect for me. Frankly, as soon as I decided that I loved the school, I felt indifferent toward their religious leanings and figured that I would just suck it up when I attended school here. At least there were some gorgeous chapels that I could appreciate, right? As soon as I started college and was surrounded by the teachers, students, and staff here, I realized that this community was perfect for me even if it was Jesuit.
The Jesuit religion focuses on the importance of education and community outreach. It has similar values to Catholicism, but is very open minded and accepting of all people of all religious backgrounds. As someone who leads a secular life, I have learned so much from my Jesuit educators about how to improve myself and my community through service and education. I wouldn’t change that for the world. There is so much incredible history on campus and through the school’s alumna who have also been affected by the Jesuit mission that prove its worth.
Although I almost immediately appreciated the Jesuit affiliation of my school, I was honestly concerned about taking the two theology classes that are required to graduate. Although I understood a lot about religion, I was worried that I would struggle compared to my classmates who had already gone through 12 years of Catholic school. I found the opposite to be true. My professor made it clear to us all that we would all have equal opportunity to succeed. We would learn about how religion affected people around the world and “We didn’t have to agree with the material, we just had to understand it.”
Learning about religion and how it affects people from all walks of life has given me a greater understanding of different cultures that I will hopefully be able to incorporate into my future career. I have also adopted so many positive qualities of the Jesuit community that I may have otherwise not associated with a religion of any kind. Since beginning college I have truly opened my mind and thrown away much of the skepticism that I had surrounding religion.