Professor highlights ranking, growth, orthodoxy
For a university that prides herself on academic prestige, Notre Dame’s highest ranked department, theology, often flies under the radar. For two of the past four years, Notre Dame has been ranked first in theology, often above institutions like Harvard, Cambridge, and Yale.
Father Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C. wrote in 1962, “The Catholic university must strive mightily to understand the philosophical and theological dimensions of the modern problems that face man today.” He continued, “It goes without saying that the Catholic university cannot fulfill this essential function in our day unless it develops departments of philosophy and theology as competent as its departments of history, physics and mathematics.”
The theology department—boasting current faculty such as John Cavadini, Jean Porter, Gary Anderson, Ulrich Lehner, and Cyril O’Regan, recipient of the prestigious Ratzinger Prize—upholds this “essential function.”
Undergraduates interested in theology can choose from two majors, three minors, or a supplemental major. The majors include theology and a joint theology-philosophy major. Students may also add a supplemental major in theology or minors in theology, Catholic social teaching, or liturgical music ministry.
Since 2015, the total number of undergraduates studying theology has doubled, and is growing at 7 percent annually—a trend which shows no sign of slowing. This number accounts for enrollment in both majors and minors in theology, but the recent growth has been driven primarily by an explosion of minors which now total around 500—over 5 percent of the undergraduate student population.
This trend is not mirrored at universities nationwide. According to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, majors in the humanities are on the decline, especially in the area of religious studies.
In an interview with the Rover, Anthony Pagliarini, Director of Undergraduate Studies in theology, pointed to three reasons that he believes have catalyzed the growth in theological interest, bucking the national trends.
Firstly, he said, Notre Dame is attracting Catholic students who are increasingly devoted to their faith. Notre Dame’s admissions have long had a soft quota of around 80–85 percent Catholic students; this has continued in spite of the inevitable tension between recruiting a diverse class and a religiously Catholic one. And despite the percentage remaining constant through the years, Pagliarini noted that today’s 80 percent “probably includes a lot more people who are deliberately and thoroughly practicing their faith.” He called it a sort of “self-selection” as the American culture trends more secular to the point where faith has to be a deliberate choice.
While Notre Dame is drawing more religious students, it is also bringing in students from more diverse backgrounds who have little to no religious experience. To address this, the theology department has “had to do things like introduce an alternate version of Foundations, we call fundamentals.” This alternative to the required first theology course is specifically designed for those with no exposure to Christian theology.
Secondly, Pagliarini said, “What we do as a theology department … is not religious studies. … What we do here as a theology department is theology.” In other words, Notre Dame is less interested in studying world religion from an anthropological perspective, but rather more from a desire to contribute to an understanding of the Catholic faith—and ecumenically other faiths as well. This professedly Catholic approach, unique among Notre Dame’s peers, attracts a different type of student than religious studies programs at Duke or Oxford.
Pagliarini’s third reason for the increase in theological interest is that the department “put[s] a lot of time and effort into the required courses. These are not perfunctory, leftover on repeat.” Pagliarini pointed out that last year, only five to ten freshmen entered Notre Dame intending to major in theology, but by the end of spring 2024, 50 freshmen were enrolled in a theology major and 178 had declared minors. This trend is not unique to 2024; it has been seen in each of the past several years. Pagliarini, who speaks with every student that declares a theology major or minor, credits the required introductory course with a major role in the theological interest of the student body.
Despite the number of students the Foundations of Theology course brings into the major, the university once considered removing the theology requirements from the core curriculum. A 2015 report from the National Catholic Register revealed that Notre Dame’s most recent curriculum review—led by Gregory Crawford, former Dean of the College of Science, and John McGreevy who now serves as university provost—suggested dropping the theology and philosophy requirements.
In response, Professor John Cavadini told the Register, “The core curriculum, with the theology requirement, is probably the most important component of Catholic identity.” Another prominent Notre Dame theologian, Sister Ann Astell, commented to the Register, “Philosophical and theological study is simply the indispensable, defining mark of Catholic education,” because “‘realizing the natural potential of the individual person’ is inseparable from the ‘supernatural goal of human perfection in Christ.’”
Indeed, Fr. Hesburgh called theology and philosophy of “ultimate importance” in an essay concerning the idea of the Catholic university in America Magazine.
More information on Notre Dame’s theology department can be found at theology.nd.edu. Prospective majors or minors can contact Professor Anthony Pagliarini at apaglia1@nd.edu.
Caleb Vaughan is a sophomore studying chemical engineering with a minor in theology. He can be reached at cvaugha2@nd.edu.
Photo Credit: Notre Dame Theology
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