Approximately 80% of Catholic collegiate students attend non-Catholic universities. Is that pattern related to the rise of the "Nones"? The percentage of American college students with no religious affiliation has tripled in the last 30 years; just under half of all undergraduates in the US identify as religious. Of the 26.1 million lapsed Catholics in the United States, 79% stopped practicing their faith by age 24. In light of these bleak statistics about the Church and the academy, should faithful Catholics discourage high school students from attending secular universities? Or might some secular universities present distinctive opportunities for students not only to grow in their faith but to contribute to the high Catholic adventure of making Christ visible in the secular world, especially among its leadership and legacy institutions?
Join the staff of the Penn & Drexel Newman Center and the Collegium Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture at St. Mary Magdalen Parish for Catholic Life, Secular Universities? a Saturday evening reception as we make the case that Catholic students can not only survive, but thrive as they practice their faith on a secular college campus.
Hundreds of students students attend Mass every Sunday at the Penn & Drexel Newman Center. Every day, students flock to the Newman Center for community and nourishment of the soul through Mass, confession, Bible studies, and friendship. Every year over 500 Catholic and non-Catholic students as well as 200 university faculty and staff receive intellectual formation through lectures, readings groups, and seminars hosted by the Collegium Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture. As the great Cardinal Newman wrote, “growth is the only evidence of life,” and by that measure the Church in University City has never been more alive. Come to Catholic Life, Secular Universities? to see for yourself the evidence of Catholic life in University City, and how you can help encourage that growth even more.
Date: Saturday, October 11, 5:30 - 7:00 pm
Location: St. Mary Magdalen Parish (2400 N Providence Rd, Media, PA)
To learn more and RSVP, click the button below. Questions? Please contact Quinn Moore (qmoore@collegiuminstitute.org).