Just because we’re Catholic doesn’t mean we’re conservative at Notre Dame

Religion doesn’t confine you to one side of the aisle

Discerning the nature of the political climate here at Notre Dame is oftentimes simple…and sometimes surprisingly difficult.

People conflate being Catholic with being politically conservative. This is why, at its most basic level, the atmosphere at ND is predictably conservative. It’s a byproduct of most students’ upbringings: stereotypically Catholic, upper middle class, probably white, probably economically conservative with varying levels of social conservatism.

“The two are often associated because Catholic beliefs are better aligned with conservative values on many of the controversial political topics.

“Abortion and gay marriage are the foremost two, where the Catholic Church has a firm and public stance, and are in agreement with conservative views,” explained Zack Jones, a sophomore chemical engineering student from Louisiana.

This can be a problem for Notre Dame students who don’t fit the “typical” Catholic, conservative mold. No one wants their school spirit or their religious loyalty called into question simply because they vote Democrat instead of Republican. It is a college campus, after all, so liberal opinions certainly aren’t absent from the mix.

Yik Yak is often where students turn for the most heated political discussion on campus. Naturally, everyone’s views get a little more intense when one can hide behind anonymity, so it’s hard to know whether the conservatives do hold such a vast majority.

Or maybe they’re simply louder.

The interesting thing is that, while the university’s more conservative attitudes get a lot of attention, sometimes adhering to Catholic doctrine leads the administration to actions that are far more “liberal.” We can see that Notre Dame’s Catholic identity, rather than locking it into a strictly conservative worldview, allows it to transcend party lines.

Father Jenkins’ recent statement regarding the refugee crisis and the growing suspicion towards Muslim immigrants in the aftermath of the Paris attacks comes to mind. He warned readers against stereotyping and concluded that: “We must not be cowed by terrorists into turning our backs on our Syrian brothers and sisters, but instead — and in the name of Our Lady of Refuge — share with them our bounty and protection.”

This attitude is not one commonly found on the political right.

Certain elements of Catholic Social Teaching, which is actively taught at Notre Dame, seem to have a more liberal bent too, such as the “Preferential option for the poor and vulnerable,” which states that the good of society’s poor and vulnerable always comes first.

So, did Notre Dame students choose to come here for a specific political climate, and how much are they affected by what already exists here?

The students I spoke to unanimously agreed that the overall consensus on campus is conservative, but they didn’t necessarily think that this means the place is exclusionary.

Marisa Ulrich, a pre-med sophomore from Milwaukee, thinks that being a Roman Catholic at Notre Dame helps her pick out which social issues are most important to her, like abortion and human dignity. She said: “ [it] makes me consider politics in a more moral way.”

Andréa Savage, a sophomore graphic design major from Minneapolis, often has to balance Notre Dame’s brand of Catholicism against the kind she was raised with back home. “I would say my church shaped me but to be more liberal since my church isn’t very conservative.”

“One of the women in charge of Sunday school when I was younger was openly gay so I was taught from a young age that you can be Catholic and still think being gay is okay.”

Jasmine Feder, a sophomore science major and South Bend native, has always been strongly tied to the university even though she is not Christian. She added: “Being at Notre Dame definitely brings me into contact with views of certain issues that are different from my own.”

“However, I don’t feel uncomfortable sharing my political views at ND. The atmosphere at ND is conservative, but most students and faculty are very understanding and do not judge.”

As the 2016 elections approach and political discourse becomes that much more tense, that sense of understanding seems to be breaking down around the edges. There are certainly many people who view an attack on their political views as an attack on who they are as a person, and this polarizes campus much in the same way that it polarizes the political community in general.

Going back to Yik Yak, the discussions on that mobile forum have become increasingly heated, and even nasty and personal. The debate can be constructive, but more often than not, it results in finger-pointing and wild generalization.

Even worse, students begin to avoid engaging in important political dialogue because they want to avoid that exact type of unpleasant confrontation.

But politics don’t have to be divisive – they can be inspiring. The fact that we’ve all chosen to go to Notre Dame ultimately says something about us: we believe in something more than ourselves. We can use that touch of idealism to work across the aisle, to build something that benefits everyone, and that’s definitely what our country needs right now.

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