Theology remains compulsory at Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame has announced it will be retaining its requirement that all undergraduates take two theology courses, writes Michael Sean Winters.

Some at the university advocated eliminating the requirement or dropping it to one course, noting that other leading universities allow more elective courses. Theologians worried that if Notre Dame cut the theology requirement, other colleges would follow.

In an effort to “deepen the Catholic character” of the education offered, the university’s report on the core curriculum stated: “Four aspects of the Catholic liberal arts tradition seem to us relevant: the search for the unity of knowledge across disciplines; prominence of philosophy and theology; an ethos deriving from Catholic social thought centred on the common good; and the intellectual resource of a tradition stretching back to the first Christian communities”.