My experience with theology at Notre Dame is quite typical. It isn't extraordinary, and it doesn't involve any major revelations or moments that turned my life around. That is precisely why it needs to be shared--because my story is the story of so many of my friends and my fellow students.
I grew up going to public school and honestly never learned much about my faith. In attending parish religious classes, I learned that God loved me and that I should pray every day. I learned that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and that I should be a good person and I'd get into heaven. In short, I had no idea what it meant to be a Catholic, even though I thought I was doing a pretty good job. If theology courses weren't required at Notre Dame, I may have considered taking one or two. I probably would have chosen the easiest sounding course, or I would have put off taking a class for a few years because I didn't think there was anything I didn't already know about being a Catholic. After all, I was generally nice to people and I went to mass most weekends.My first theology class was, in short, awful. It was hard. It was convoluted. Most of the time, it didn't make sense. I didn't like that it was taught by a graduate student and that I had no say in what kind of introductory course I would be taught. I didn't like that my friends had interesting, intellectual classes that taught them about what faith was like today. But still, I learned. I grew in my faith. For the first time, I put together the realization that faith is more than feelings and high ideas. I learned that theology means "faith seeking understanding," and I learned that understanding is vital to my faith. I discovered the historical relevance of scripture and I paid better attention to that history when I heard the readings in mass. I still did not understand the liturgy too well, and my limited knowledge of the faith led to quite a few misconceptions in my mind. But I was on the right track. I had learned the first few essential glimpses of the faith: that I had no idea what I was doing, that this was actually going to take some work, and that theology is not a flimsy lighthearted talk about ambiguous love, but a discipline just as vital and as difficult as my science courses.
Theology is a discipline. Even my poorly taught, difficult theology class was better than not taking any courses at all. These requirements were far from a burden. They have shaped my life. They gave me a better understanding of my own faith. They inspired me to share my faith with others in a way that actually taught them truth, rather than making things up. They gave my non-Catholic friends the vocabulary with which to discuss the faith. They taught me about other faiths and how I can interact with them.
Theology is a vital study in any University, but it is absolutely essential to the mission of Notre Dame. My dear friends, how can we say we are educating the mind and the heart if we don't help students understand their heart's deepest desire? How can we remain a Catholic university if we do not adhere to this simple principle of teaching Catholic faith? Theology requirements do, in my opinion, need to be changed. They need to be strengthened, so messes like my first theology course don't happen. First or introductory theology courses should be strengthened and streamlined, so that each student has the same opportunity to understand his or her faith. Courses should be intellectually vigorous but sensitive to the needs of freshmen. Graduate students must be better supported and guided in their teachings of freshmen by our great professors. Courses that embrace diversity and teach the various aspects of the faith in respect to other faiths should be expanded and encouraged.
Notre Dame has so much to offer its students. The theology department has arguably the most to offer. It has brilliant minds--from liturgical theologians like Professor Tim O'Malley to great leaders in the field like Professor John Cavadini. Through these brilliant minds, though, the department offers something no other department can--the ability to change one's heart. When a freshman enters DeBartolo Hall, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to embrace her, to show her what she has been longing to hear her whole life. If we want to be taken seriously as a Catholic university in the twenty first century, she needs us to take her by the hand and guide her into a theology course. Please do not deny others the privilege that I received as a freshman. Require at least two theology courses for all majors. Teach us to pray, to love, and to live.
