Are Church and State Really Separate?

Before coming to Fordham, I attended a public high school. For most of my academic career, religion was not a topic that was taught. I grew up always being taught that while there is freedom of religion in the United States, religion is one of those topics that should be avoided. However, being at Fordham has taught me that not only should religion not be ignored since it has shaped so many cultures, but it should be discussed in many different contexts.

Over this past summer, I received an email from Fordham's Francis and Ann Curran Center for American Catholic Studies inviting me to apply for an interdisciplinary Concentration in American Catholic Studies, which is referred to by the members as CACS. This concentration focuses on Roman Catholic belief and culture in the United States. It begins with the concentrators meeting once per month in what is called "The Discernment Seminar," which introduces the concentrators to the program and helps them to really try to understand themselves better. The concentration involves taking six courses, which includes two Catholic Studies courses and four courses that can be selected out of a collection of courses in many different subjects that are related to Roman Catholicism.

While the concentration requires six courses, it was easy to fit into my schedule since it is an interdisciplinary concentration and many of the course offerings for CACS also fulfill my core and major requirements. For example, I need to take upper-level economics courses to fulfill my Business Economics Concentration for my Business Administration major. Therefore, I am planning on taking a course next semester called "Economic Foundations of Catholic Social Teaching," which fulfills both an economics requirement and one of my CACS requirements.

One of my favorite aspects of CACS is that guest speakers are regularly invited to Fordham for lectures. Coming from a background where religion was not discussed very often, it is fascinating to listen to and speak with the guest lecturers, who come from many different backgrounds to discuss how religion plays a part in all aspects of life.This month has been especially busy with guest lecturers. 

Professor Finn

Just before Spring Break, the Curran Center for American Catholic Studies invited Professor Daniel K. Finn from Saint John's for a week-long lecture series in which he discussed how Modern Catholic Social Teaching is related to economics, government, business, education, and many other areas that are not often associated with religion. As a Business major, I found this lecture series to be especially interesting. It was fascinating to discuss the economic and business practices of the Bible and move forward to see how they have changed, both for the good and bad. By discussing Modern Catholic Social Teaching, Professor Finn encouraged us to both practice and demand ethical business practices that would not diminish the dignity of individuals as so many modern business practices do, but to instead raise up the individual.

Melinda Henneberger

Today, I attended another lecture sponsored by the Curran Center. This time, the guest lecturer was Melinda Henneberger from The Washington Post. Her lecture was on the effect Pope Francis has had on politics in the United States. With so many politicians on both the right and left quoting the Pope and the impending meeting between President Obama and Pope Francis, it was really interesting to listen to the perspective of a journalist who has followed both politics and religion on how the Pope has been influencing American politics. She claims that the Pope has inspired both liberals and conservatives to begin talking about topics previously not discussed, which is a really positive thing in American politics. Hopefully, the politicians will do more than just talk and will begin to take some action! 

While I am not Catholic myself, I have really enjoyed being part of CACS. It is a really great experience to understand the Catholic faith better and understand how it relates to so many aspects of American culture. The best part of the program is that everything is motivated by dialogue. None of the courses are simply lectures. The point of the program is for people from all different backgrounds and perspectives to sit and discuss the many issues that we are faced with today and discuss how those issues relate to the beliefs and teachings of Roman Catholicism. For the members of CACS, religion is not a subject that is taboo, but a subject that brings us all together in thoughtful dialogue.

The Curran Center and American Catholic Studies

Paul Elie speaks at last weekend's symposium honoring Flannery O'Connor's Wise Blood

Photo by Michael Dames

As a prospective student, I remember picking up countless flyers and leaflets from admissions offices around the country. If the on-campus events seemed interesting to me, I, naturally, became much more interested in the school. Fordham stood out to me then, and it certainly has not disappointed.

The Curran Center for American Catholic Studies at Fordham embodies both our University’s commitment to intellectual inquiry, and the benefits garnered from our location in a city teeming with ideas, people, and a distinct history. Throughout the year, the Curran Center sponsors lectures and other programs on subjects related to faith and culture in the modern world. This past weekend, I attended a symposium honoring and celebrating the 60th anniversary of Flannery O’Connor’s Wise Blood. Guests offered their own analyses and interpretations of a novel and an author to which each had dedicated much of his or her own academic work. The crowd consisted not only of Fordham students and faculty, but of visitors from outside the Fordham community as well. As a prospective student, Fordham's on-campus events stood out to me because the topics were different and often thought-provoking. This symposium, as have others I've attended, brought new ideas and voices to campus - which is why I think the Curran Center is one of the hidden gems at Fordham.

The Curran Center also offers an undergraduate program in American Catholic Studies. As described by Associate Director Angela O’Donnell, American Catholic Studies is a program for “academically motivated” students who want to study “the culture, the faith, the history, and the theology of the American Catholic Church.” For students both inside and outside of the department, the Curran Center offers courses that investigate Catholicism’s distinct permeation into personal histories, as well as into our larger popular and political culture. O’Donnell explains that the Curran Center would not be what it is without the foundational history of New York City and those whose Catholicism was influenced by it, i.e. Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, and others. In this way, the Curran Center is a model of Fordham’s commitment to extending one’s academic life past the Third Avenue gates. As is evident by our blog, Fordham is inextricable from the social and professional opportunities offered by New York City. Yet the Curran Center, and similar bodies, make Fordham’s on and off-campus life academically enriching as well.

From the Pews in the Back

Campus Life: Lecture // From the Pews in the Back: "I just got back from a lecture put on by Fordham's American Catholic Studies program. However, this was not just any lecture, this lecture w..."