Thursday, May 3, 2012
A student's reflection about attending a Catholic law school
Here are some thoughts, about the experience of attending a Catholic law school (i.e., Notre Dame), from a student in my "Catholic Social Thought and the Law" class:
In a way, I am living the dream. As an undergraduate, two things that I was certain about were: (1) I wanted to go to law school (2) If admitted, I would go Notre Dame Law School (NDLS). Accordingly, once I was admitted into NDLS, the choice was easy to attend NDLS. My faith is central to my life and, after attending a public university for my B.A., the thought of attending a tier 1 law school rooted in the Catholic faith was refreshing and exciting. I looked forward to integrating my faith life with my studies and meeting intelligent people who shared my faith. Now that I am two years into my law degree at NDLS and I want to very briefly touch on my inside perspective, as an orthodox leaning Catholic, of NDLS.
In my opinion, the most “Catholic” part of NDLS is its faculty. A majority of my professors are serious Catholics and are completely open about their faith life. I love the fact that many of my professors think beyond the letter of the law and approach the law as a means to further the dignity of humankind. However, one complaint I would have is that most of my professors are so diplomatic about controversial issues that I feel it prevents good discussions about some of the more hot button issues of our time
The student body at NDLS is significantly less Catholic than the faculty. There are a handful of students who came to NDLS because it is a Catholic university but it seems that a majority of students are here for other reasons, such as NDLS’s high ranking or prestigious name. A couple weeks ago I attended mass at the law school on a Wednesday. I was surprised to discover that only 4 of the attendees were law students (although no professors were present). With all that being said, I don’t want to give the wrong impression. There is serious Catholic bent in among the NDLS student body, obviously, much more than you will find among other tier 1 law schools. I have been just a little underwhelmed with the “fervence” of the student body. In NDLS’s defense, it would be a tall task to admit 200 serious Catholics per year and still remain a top-notch law school.
https://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2012/05/a-students-reflection-about-attending-a-catholic-law-school.html
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Rick,
I attended a Catholic law school in downtown Minneapolis that some Notre Dame faculty founded. At the time, my attitude was "just earn that JD" and ignore any references to the Catholic Church. I was a staunch Protestant and when the Dominican priest-law professor led the introductory Torts class with the Lord's Prayer, I refused to make the sign of the cross but I agreed with the prayer. The Christian Legal Society there was dominated by Protestants and that's what I hoped would be a bulwark against the "darkness and bad teachings of Catholicism". I graduated and dove deeper into my Protestantism by joining the OPC. I really wanted to write those years off at St. Thomas as wasted years.
But just recently, I began exploring the claims of the Catholic Church. Long story short, this past Easter Vigil, I entered into full communion with her. I reached out to the very priest I opposed to tell him the news and he was delighted. I still wish I had not attended law school, but I think that being Catholic would have helped. I would have been more engaged in the life of the community and that may have opened more doors for me.