Confessions of a Catholic Schooled in Secular Institutions

Warning: Long, boring post ahead.


We had a very engaging discussion about Catholic Universities and Institutions in the students’ group this evening. I’m sorry to say, but I failed to see their point of view, regardless of how open I am to the idea.

They had various models for Catholic Schools.

1) Catholic schools run, taught and attended by purely Catholics.
2) Catholic schools run by Catholics, but taught and attended by people from all religions.

One of the most ludicrous ideas I heard this evening was an entire loop of education. Study in an affiliated elementary and high school, attending an affiliated university, then working in the same university after graduation. Hello? Stagnation anyone? Cloistering does no one any good, unless you are a nun or hermit. Would the person be able to deal with the diversity in the real world?

One of the arguments for a Catholic school, especially a university, is the provision of a well-rounded education, with aims not only to provide for the student academically, but physically and socially as well. Hello? Except for the religious aspect, which one can easily obtain from the religious institution, which secular educational institution these days does not aim to provide a holistic education?

I am not against the idea of a Catholic school per se. In fact, I rather enjoy the thought of having Mass everyday and being taught in a faith enriching environment. But if having that means imposing my values onto someone else, I would give it up. Evangelisation does not mean imposition. And if it means having 10% Catholics and 90% others, then how different is that from a secular school? And if being termed a Catholic school causes people to have a pre-conceived idea that all students are or must be Catholics, thereby turning away from the school, would this educational institution have many students other than Catholics? This is a vicious cycle.

I come from secular education institutions and never had I felt embarrassed about my religion, and never did I try to hide my catholic identity. There were always societies such as the Catholic Students’ Society in NUS to provide for my spiritual growth. And this is not run by some two-bit non-religious teacher who may give you wrong information like what Lucy suggested. But the spiritual direction is an ordained priest. Can this be bad? There are the Awareness Weeks for Catholic and Muslims, CAW and IAW, respectively for civilised, educated religious dialogue. Can this be bad? In fact, being exposed to a whole range of faiths may end up strengthening yours especially when you have to defend it against over-zealous evangelistic Protestants.

And don’t forget, our mission is to spread the Good News to the world. Can this be achieved if all our education and lives are spent around people of the same type? Are we building clones here?

Perhaps I’ve misunderstood the entire concept of university life completely. Perhaps NUS and Singapore universities are very different from the rest of the world. For the limited time I’ve spent here, I’ve not seen or heard of any societies, like what we have in NUS. Societies where groups of like-minded people come together, be it a love for kayaking, religion, sports or music. There are only nations or frat houses. Perhaps that’s why they find it so difficult to accept my model of a secular institution that is able to provide for its students spiritually as well, no matter the faith.

Until Fr. Philip pointed out that that is an up-and-coming school model in the States. A similar concept of having a religious neutral university where students are able to attend courses and obtain spiritual direction from the various affiliated religious centres in the neutral university.

Then some smart-aleck had to point out the there cannot be any separation of the spiritual and the material. It whole aim is to bring the spiritual into the material.

I don’t disagree but I don’t see why this can’t be done in a secular institution. I have not, and never will deny my Catholic identity. I have not been harassed for my faith. And in all the secular institutions I’ve been schooled in, never was I made to hide my faith. I maintained my spirituality, not in spite of, but together with a secular education. Perhaps the little red dot has this done correctly.