Besides debating whether or not Notre Dame should have made the playoffs or how its academic programs measure up, many of those interested in the university are curious about something more fundamental: the depth of its religious identity. In an interview with the Rover, Brett Perkins, Assistant Director for Evangelization and Religious Education for the Office of Campus Ministry, shed light on Notre Dame’s religious situation.
Perkins, a resident of Keough Hall from 1997 to 2001, came to Notre Dame as a Methodist. “I never would have thought I would be going to a Catholic [university],” he told the Rover. But during his sophomore year, Perkins converted to Catholicism and began to eagerly participate in the faith opportunities that were present.
Perkins observed that the spiritual life of the university today, however, is noticeably different than it was 25 years ago: “I have noticed a change in intentionality. Cultural Catholicism has a very limited ability to persevere in … cultivating the life of faith amongst people in today’s day and age, [especially] with the challenges of what it looks like to live a Christian life in the world. [It’s] a move away from cultural Catholicism to intentional Catholicism.”
This shift has occurred across many aspects of campus life. Student-run small groups and residence hall Bible studies grow in popularity with each passing year. In the last five years, groups such as Ethos ND, a faith-based initiative committed to combating pornography addiction; Unify ND, a website making Mass, Adoration, and Confession times around campus easily accessible; and the Notre Dame Theology Club have all been founded by university students.
These are all present in addition to the rich spiritual life seen across the halls and academic buildings. Throughout the week, Notre Dame has over 150 Masses, nearly 50 hours of Eucharistic Adoration, and 20 hours of Confession.
The university also boasts numerous liturgical choirs, four different liturgical rites, Masses in various languages, over half a dozen opportunities to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, and countless other ways to engage the faith. Recently, an ice chapel dedicated to St. Olaf was built on North Quad and hosted a Mass for Candlemas that attracted over 2000 students. These vibrant sacramental and spiritual resources are not only supported by the university but increasingly sought after by the student body.
“They’re becoming intentional disciples of the Lord earlier on,” Perkins said, explaining the change in culture around campus. “[Students] aren’t just living their own Catholic faith as a disciple, but they’re apostolic, they’re concerned about inviting others in. People have found the source of their joy, the source of their life and happiness, and they desire to share that with others. Not because it’s a what—arguments or philosophy—but because it’s a who: the person of Jesus Christ. Seeing that kind of shift has been beautiful.”
Despite these clear upward trends, some have accused Notre Dame of sending mixed signals concerning its Catholic identity. Confusion on this point has arisen from events like the recent decision to hire Susan Ostermann, an abortion proponent, as head of the Liu Institute, the rejection of a proposed pornography filter, and the likening of diversity, equality, and inclusion policies to the university’s Catholic identity.
Another point of confusion was the initial exclusion of the Catholic mission from the university’s core values statement earlier this year. Yet, in response to backlash over the change, University President Fr. Robert Dowd, C.S.C. clarified that “our Catholic mission guides and informs all that we do and how we work together” and decided that “to avoid any further confusion, we have now included the language on Catholic mission as the first of our five core values.”
In response to the university’s shortcomings, Perkins offered a hopeful view of Notre Dame’s relationship to its faith, saying, “We’re not perfect. Any institution has to also be humble enough to say that they’re striving. As we would say in the individual journey in the life of faith, we’re striving. We’re not perfect, we’re trying to do our best to respond to the call that the Lord has given us.”
“Students here at Notre Dame [repeatedly] say ‘No, we actually are [an] amazing Catholic school and it’s imbued everywhere,’” Perkins continued. “It’s not this thing that we’re constantly looking to just push out and get rid of, but something that we cherish and absolutely love!”
A desire for greater engagement with the Catholic faith has been increasingly visible throughout Notre Dame’s student body. The university’s Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) program, the process through which adults become Catholic, has doubled in the last two years to over 75 participants.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame students who are already Catholic are also eager to engage their faith more deeply. Speaking about Exalt Adoration, which offers Eucharistic Adoration and praise and worship music, Perkins explained that it has “continued to grow and grow to 200 people at each one on Friday nights on a college campus. And now we can’t fit into certain chapels because [they] aren’t big enough!”
Seeing this culture present at Notre Dame, Perkins encouraged skeptics to take a second look: “To the people who are out there who think it’s a once-great Catholic university or previously Catholic, I think they’re stuck back in an era that was the 80s or 90s. They are stuck in their perception of this time when Notre Dame may have lost its way a little. Come to campus, come and see people who are using their gifts to change the world and build the Kingdom of God right here, right now. Come and see what Notre Dame … is really like.”
Luke Fisher is a freshman from Detroit living in Siegfried Hall. He is majoring in theology and also struggling his way through the Program of Liberal Studies. If he’s not at a healthy grocery store or shoveling his truck out of snow, you can usually find him doing the chapel crawl around campus. To join in (or chat), reach out at lfisher8@nd.edu.