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I never thought this would be an issue for me, as religion has never been at the top of my list of priorities, but as i come closer and closer to applying to colleges, the fact that Georgetown is a catholic school is scaring me a little. Will i feel out of place if i go there? I mean, is religion a big part of the daily routine? I've been told so many different statistics as to how many jews go to georgetown. One person said 20 percent, one 15, one 5, and one 10. The site says 5, but that is only of the 80 percent reported, and jews are probably less likely to report on their own volition than catholics. Still, it's worrying me a bit. I want to go to a school where i can feel at home; i want to go to a school where there's an actively social, but not actively discriminating or self-segregating community. Right now, i'm starting to worry. Please help and give me your input.

By Itziar (Itziar) on Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - 08:24 am: Edit

You won't be out of place. I've been here less than a week and I've already met a *lot* of Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Protestant, and other people of different religions (plus atheists and agnostics). Today there's even a three hour event at the Jewish Community Center (it's a "Make Your Own Sundae" Party, yay!). I'm not sure about percentages either but I've seen a lot of Jewish services and events advertised, so as far as I know it's a fairly large, active community. And religion is not a huge part of the daily routine--it really seems that G'town makes a strong effort to include everyone (for instance, a Rabbi, not a priest, led the benediction during our New Student Convocation).

Hope this helps a bit!

By Itziar (Itziar) on Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - 08:45 am: Edit

Oh, and you might find these sites useful:

http://www.georgetown.edu/organizations/jsa/

http://campusministry.georgetown.edu/jewish/worship.html

By Gtownmom (Gtownmom) on Thursday, September 02, 2004 - 03:03 pm: Edit

Retrotastic, Georgetown was the first Catholic university to hire a full time Rabbi on staff. They seem very eager to be inclusive and to teach appreciation of all faiths. Georgetown was founded by and is run by a particular group of priests called Jesuits (members of the Society of Jesus). On whole, Jesuits tend to be very intellectual, educated, tolerant, happy, and open-minded people. That attitude tends to permeate the campus and student body. Don't be worried. Go for a visit and talk to people there and you will put your concerns to rest and can make a decision based on other criteria.

Good luck to you wherever you choose to apply and attend!

By Arangatan (Arangatan) on Saturday, September 04, 2004 - 07:20 pm: Edit

But how important is religion at Georgetown? one of my friends said that going to church is a big thing at georgetown, and that everyone does it. so even if they try to include everyone.. you might still feel left out if 80% of hte student pop is going to church every weekend.

By Candi1657 (Candi1657) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 11:35 am: Edit

Try this link:

http://www.hillel.org/hillel/Hillel_Schools_New.nsf/44257994e40bf4e7852567ec00500a7d/f50cab5a8b45837285256ebc0063b75e?OpenDocument

By Itziar (Itziar) on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 04:54 pm: Edit

Definitely nowhere near 80% of the student body goes to church every weekend. I haven't even spoken to anyone about religion yet.

By Fallentear04 (Fallentear04) on Friday, September 10, 2004 - 11:47 am: Edit

Yeah - definitely not 80%. As a sidenote, two of the kids on my floor are half Jewish and are both involved in the Jewish frat. They definitely don't feel left out.

By Hoya_Saxa01 (Hoya_Saxa01) on Friday, September 10, 2004 - 12:55 pm: Edit

Agreed with everyone else. I went to mass on Sunday night (I'm not Catholic, though) and the chapel was half empty and it's not a very big building to begin with so it probably wouldn't even be possible for 80% of the students to go to mass. I guarantee that you won't feel left out. I can tell you that (and I'm saying this truthfully but jokingly) about 90% of Georgetown students NEED to go to mass after all the sex and alcohol. Lol!

By Cornellhopeful (Cornellhopeful) on Sunday, September 12, 2004 - 12:29 pm: Edit

lol, last night was a fun night on my floor.

the Living Well floor.

By Justsomehskid (Justsomehskid) on Sunday, September 12, 2004 - 04:21 pm: Edit

Also, Georgetown (the area) has a reasonable Jewish presence. I'm a Jew living in DC, and people are generally pretty laid back about religion, and there are synagogues at all parts of the city (including a few in Georgetown) As for the college kids, they aren't usually too religious. Good luck, and enjoy it.