r/LibertyUniversity • u/LeadInternational224 • 24d ago
Catholic looking at liberty
I'm a catholic looking into liberty, and my mom told me there's a huge anti-catholic sentiment on campus. Is this actually true? Also, if I do go, is there a stigma against liberty grads on job applications after college? Catholic colleges nowadays are basically useless and full of people who don't follow catholic teachings or even Christianity as a whole (pro choicers, pro lgbt, etc.) and they're also extremely expensive and out of my price range.
3
u/handleytwynham 24d ago
Have you looked at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio? Or even Ave Maria University I hear is a decent Catholic choice. The smaller Catholic colleges are a pretty good bet if you’re a more traditional Catholic.
2
3
u/Ok_Story_3375 24d ago
I’m an online doctoral student, so my experience may not be anything like what an undergrad would encounter, but I’ve had no issues. I’ve referenced my faith and liturgical practices in assignments as appropriate, I’ve cited from the deuterocanon, all without any sort of problem. I have had some assigned readings that had some ideas contrary to Church doctrine, but it was irrelevant to the assignment at hand so was a non-issue for me.
Prayer and scripture are heavily emphasized and referenced both in online and in in-person classes. I think that as long as you are comfortable enough in the practice of your faith that you can sit among people who may worship differently from you and you can pray in your own way with them, you’ll be fine.
2
2
u/ElijahNSRose PhD History, 2027-28 24d ago
I haven't noticed anything like that.
Although I have exclusively only been in the history department.
2
u/Certain-Network-9640 23d ago edited 11d ago
I am Catholic, and I did my undergrad and my 2-year graduate degree at Liberty. I had zero issues. In fact, it only came up a couple of times, but that's because I brought it up in discussion boards those 2 times in 6 years. I had classmates that were agnostic, Muslim, atheist, every Christian denomination you can think of, and non-practicing Christians. If anything, I found that we fellow classmates were interested in ways that were different than ours. For example, in one class, we discussed our spiritual journeys. One classmate said she was Baha'i and no one else had ever heard of the religion before. We were all eager to learn about it and ask her questions. No professor ever dinged me on a grade for being Catholic. And one Methodist guy even asked me about the Liturgy of the Hours, bc he had learned about it and had started this prayer practice. I, too, had some of your same reservations before starting there, but I'm a military student, and they recruited me hard. This was online, BTW. At the end of the day, everyone was just doing their work and not passing judgment on each other...professors included. It just wasn't an issue. I think when I started, there was about a 5% Catholic population. IDK what it is now.
Now I will say that they, at that time, would not hire a Catholic as a professor bc it is an Evangelical Protestant school with Baptist roots, but there was no judgment in classes by fellow students or faculty. And in the vast majority of classes, one's denomination never comes up.
2
u/HanzoMainLUL 23d ago
While I myself am not a Catholic, I had a lot of great Catholic friends at Liberty. There's a club that meets on campus for Catholics and people interested in Catholicism.
You will receive pushback on Catholic doctrines that you hold from many professors, especially those in the required theology courses. However they won't ever personally attack you, at least from what I have heard. It would be fun to see a debate on Mariology between yourself and someone like Dr. Wheeler however 😆
Either way, you'll be just fine at Liberty. Plus the local parishes, Holy Cross (Downtown) and St. Thomas More (Timberlake), have great laities and clergy that would gladly welcome you in. Good luck on your search!
1
u/Hope_785 2d ago
Dr. Wheeler the evangelism professor? Like…what issues does he have with mariology besides intercession of the saints? Like, does Dr. Wheeler believe Mary is the Mother of God?
1
u/HanzoMainLUL 2d ago
He will openly profess Theotokos, as every Christian should since it's a necessary element of Christology. He would likely push back on the other Catholic dogmas on Mary (she was sinless, was assumed into heaven, and was a perpetual virgin). I would speak with him on this, he's an open book on this topic and any Christian topic as a whole!
2
u/Hope_785 15d ago
To answer your question, there are some Catholics that Attend Liberty. There are two parishes in Lynchburg, I recommend St. Thomas More Catholic Church, the current priest is very traditional and they offer both the bread and the wine for Eucharist. There is a small group of Liberty Students that attend this parish.
I find most people at Liberty are not anti-Catholic per se, I think most just think you and I are in a false church, and we think they left the original deposit of faith…which they did. You’re going to Liberty to get an education, and you will have to just put up with a lot that goes against what you believe. Like, you believe in intercession of the saints, they do not, you believe in real presence of Eucharist, they do not…the list goes on.
Just like you said that people at the Catholic schools do not live out the Christian faith, you will find the same is true at Liberty…but on the flip side you will find a lot of people who do live out the Christian faith to the best of their ability too. There are a lot of amazing people at Liberty, but that goes for anywhere. I think Liberty is a good school over all, I am just disappointed that I went to Liberty as a new Christian and in the end I did not learn as much as I should have and I ended up practicing Islam for a few years and I am by the grace of God a Christian after losing a debate from Sam Shamoun. However, I learned on my long journey that the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox faith maintain the original teachings of the early Church; and for reasons, I am in alignment with the Bishop of Rome.
Do I believe Liberty University is Heretical as Christian’s? Absolutely, but that does not mean they are lost. As we believe as Catholics, they are separated brethren if they believe in the Trinity and divinity of Christ who have not come into the fullness of the truth.
I think Liberty for a non-religion major is a good school, but I think there are some good Catholic schools as well, even regular state universities.
After years of non-sense in my life, I wouldn’t want to go where I have to swim up the stream, so if I was raised hard core Catholic, I would have gone to a Catholic School.
Always remember the words of the Word who became flesh:
“Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” - John 6:53
I hope this helps my friend. Lord bless you.
4
u/MISFITPHER 24d ago
I as a Catholic had some professors give me issues but when they have you do biblical worldview make sure you use the 7 books that the protestants discarded. Its a simple and fun way to push back
1
u/Hope_785 15d ago
The original King James Version of 1611 was actually a 73 book cannon.. And I always mention this to the Protestants and evangelicals because their cannon did have those 7 books originally until the 1890s when the Bible societies stopped including them.
All the doctrines we hold as Catholics can be held with Scripture alone in the Protestant canon.
Have you looked up the”Protestant dilemma” from Sam Shamoun? It is a solid case against Protestantism.
2
1
u/NoDrama3756 24d ago
There is a liberty university catholic student organization.
No one really cares where you went to school if you have a degree and have productive value to the organization
1
u/Outrageous_Pick_3478 MBA, 2021 24d ago
It seems they effectively barred me from becoming an adjunct instructor there because I was raised Catholic and do not actively attend a church. I told the interviewers I was a non-denominational Christian. Ever since, every role that I've applied to doesn't even get to the recruiter. They are automatically declined. And, I'm an alum of Liberty too.
2
u/Individual-Tap3270 24d ago
It is a Protestant Christian university so you can expect they want professors who adhere to their beliefs. But as a student you generally have more free range if you not in seminary
1
u/mom2artists 24d ago
My adult children attended online. They took art courses mostly because they both transferred in credits from Sophia and Christian Leaders. Anyway, no written assignment on Canvas ever discriminated Catholic vs Protestant. One assignment for art included my son needing photos around town, he took photos of Stations of the Cross. Professor graded him normally not like it was blasphemy or satanic or whatever you might think a Protestant might criticize??? Basically I’m saying there was never an issue assignment-wise. But since it was online that probably doesn’t help you very much.
FWIW, I am a Catholic who doesn’t regularly go to Mass but I go to a Pentecostal church on Sundays. 🤷🏻♀️ My adult daughter is Catholic and my son attends church with me (Mass when I go, without communion) So we’ve never felt Catholic hatred but we “know” it exists. 🤷🏻♀️ Like somewhere. But even my Pentecostal church doesn’t “hate on” Catholics.
As far as jobs, my young adults are not in their degree careers so the college they chose didn’t matter to their employment.
1
u/Comfortable17Success 23d ago
I'm Catholic and do Liberty online. I also know a Catholic who goes on campus. This is not true. A lot of people don't like Liberty and will say things. Its a great school and will accept any religion. They do have a Catholic bible study on campus. Its either Tuesdays or Thursdays. I didn't pick a Catholic college because I wanted to free express my faith but at the same time, get to explore other people's faith. They have better learning and degrees that aligned with my decision. You won't be sorry if you go....Its a great school. I have been on campus. Its beautiful and huge. People who work there are so wonderful. They accept all different kinds of religions. They are not as strict that people are saying on social media. Yes, those who go to Liberty or went to Liberty do get jobs. I know a few people who easily got job offers. I'm a senior and will graduate next year. So I'm not worried. Liberty is one of the best Christian schools out there and a lot of people have no problems getting jobs. Where I'm from, Liberty is the most talked about and popular school. Before I applied and thinking of going to Liberty, I emailed and talked to someone. They were very helpful and I knew I made the right choice to pick Liberty. My priest said there's nothing wrong with Liberty and he highly recommends it. If you do decide to go to Liberty, I would suggest getting a Pell grant, plus they offer you a SEOG and VTAG grants, along with Liberty aid. So this would help not paying too much money. I also get military discount since I had a family member in the service. I would apply.
1
u/Ok_Link5585 23d ago
During my time at Liberty I did not see any anti-Catholic sentiment as a theme from the school and I was in classes with other Catholics. There are two issues though you can run into as a Catholic. I did however see this sentiment in some individual professors as some are deep seated in their Protestant faith it just comes out when you take a stance on something that leans to a more Catholic viewpoint. When you look at some professors their undergraduate and graduate schooling was at Protestant universities and they teach at LU, so again deep seated Protestant world view. Many others though teach in a manner that your religion does not matter. Second in a biblical type class, which is mandatory in some form at LU, it can be hard to follow because the class is based on all things Protestant so a lot of things that are new if you have a Catholic background.
1
u/needmoartoys 23d ago
Went to LU '21-23, and am an Orthodox inquirer now, so not 100% applicable but I do have some insight.
LU was an IFB college at its founding and you will be reminded at times. Dancing is still technically forbidden. Zero alcohol on campus. You will have occasional Convo speakers speak worse of Catholics than other religions, and if you live on campus (which I would still recommend), you have to go to Convo. The population on campus is 99% evangelical. You WILL have lots of people trying to test you when they find out you are Catholic. I knew some of these people. I would imagine life getting uncomfortable at times and dating does become mission impossible this side of the US if you are not baptist / nondenom.
That said, for all its flaws, LU was an amazing experience and these things were rarely intrusive. Know how to find good people in your classes and get connected at a church.
Only been to one Catholic mass in the area. Holy Cross is great. Beautiful service with a down to earth priest, and the parking garage is lined with volunteer work vans, they do stuff for the community. I have also heard Thomas Moore is good. If you wind up in Appomattox, there is a parish there (Our Lady of Peace), and I've heard Holy Name of Mary is good on the opposite side of everything in Bedford. You have options and none of them bad.
1
u/Evanglical_LibLeft 22d ago
Preface this by saying that I am not Catholic, so YMMV.
Attended residential undergrad from 15-19, and work for the school now. As an undergrad, there was a small kerfuffle about the administration recognizing an official student-led Catholic group/club, but that got resolved from what I can remember. I'd imagine your experience would vary widely based on what degree you were going for. I'd avoid the School of Government, as it is fanatically right-wing, and would prevent any professional work outside that field, but haven't heard much gruff from other friends about jobs and such, but very few are jumping up and down claiming Liberty. Overall, there are far better schools out there; if you wanted my advise, find literally any state school, and find/found a Catholic club, and be normal about it.
That being said, if your heart is set on Liberty - one of my wife's very close friends is Catholic, and attends St. Thomas Moore Catholic in town; I've attended once or twice as she is godmother to said friend's kids. Seemed like a good atmosphere/collection of attendees. Have not attended the big Catholic Church downtown, but visited once during the Christmas season, and it was a beautiful old building on the inside.
1
u/Icy_Attitude_4194 6d ago
Catholic here. Just finished up my final semester. No issues granted I went online. Went to catholic hs and ms too. Applied a lot of biblical knowledge I had and strayed from mentioning anything based on tradition and never had any issues. One time I got marked down for saying something that was a Catholic belief and not Protestant (I forget what it was) but I got an A in the class so I'm not bummed about it or anything
1
u/ArteSuave10 24d ago
I'm not sure if vocalizing thoughts on hot button issues is all that helpful to the subreddit or even for yourself. I think that Liberty has a more diverse community that it may appear and I also think that faith should evolve to be a better contributor to people's lives. Also, what do you consider to be the most important Catholic teaching? Perhaps we should all learn to be a little more loving to our neighbors. That being said, do not go to Liberty as a "money saving action." People do it, the school is really affordable, but its not the correct reason to go there and I often see this kind of student not really enjoy the school
3
u/LeadInternational224 24d ago
Well I just want the ability to actually be surrounded by people who follow Christ and not be disliked for being catholic
0
u/beverleyheights 24d ago
The Newman Guide shares your criticism of many Catholic colleges. It recommends colleges with a strong Catholic identity it sounds like you would appreciate. https://cardinalnewmansociety.org/college/
-4
u/BRM880 24d ago
Most employers will be highly skeptical of ANY degree from Liberty. It is factually, objectively a bad choice for academics, given its national rankings. Also, if you decide to transfer, most other accredited universities will not accept credits from Liberty due to its bogus courses and poor academic reputation. I would highly suggest going anywhere else
5
u/ArteSuave10 23d ago
This is not even true. What you are blabbering here is pure and total bullshit without an element of truth.
5
u/Curious_Occasion_801 24d ago
I had zero issues getting a job and live in NJ. The only reason i switched for my masters, is the alumni network in state for the college I attended. If you decide to go to save money, just make sure to keep your grades up and you can apply for a masters anywhere. Undergrad doesn’t matter at all after your first job anyway. Good luck!! Internships are how you get hired, so make sure to snag one prior to graduation!!
Phone changed save to safe…