Nick Shadowen didn’t necessarily think his proposed atheist club would be welcomed at Duquesne University with open arms. After all, with 10,000 enrolled students, Duquesne is the state’s largest private Catholic university.
Still, the university senior thought the proposed Duquesne Secular Society would be approved nonetheless. It wasn’t. He now says nonreligious views at the school are getting the cold shoulder.
“Duquesne failed to live up to their mission statement,” Shadowen says, referring to the “Celebrating Diversity” banner adorning one of the school’s web pages. “In discriminating against atheist groups, they are blatantly hypocritical.”
The rejection came at the hands of the Organization Oversight Committee, a branch of Duquesne’s Student Government Association that reviews applications from student groups seeking formal recognition. When applying for formal recognition, student-government bylaws require student organizations to comply with school rules and “the Mission statement of the University.”
Duquesne’s mission statement asserts that “It is the Spirit who gives life.”
The SGA’s committee unanimously voted not to allow the club to come up for a vote of the full student-government body. SGA President Zachary Zeigler said the group did not meet the school’s organizational requirements. He declined to comment further.
Administrators welcomed the decision. According to Duquesne spokesperson Bridget Fare, an officially recognized atheist group on campus would compromise the school’s underlying Catholic values.
“The group does not comply with the University’s mission and its positions are against the belief in God,” Fare wrote in an email. “Duquesne University is a faith-based institution and, while all students are welcome and have an opportunity to meet informally, officially recognizing a group that is opposed to the belief in God is not consistent with our mission.”
But Shadowen points out that the institution already recognizes student organizations whose members don’t subscribe to Catholic teaching. Duquesne student groups include organizations for Jewish and Muslim students, as well as a gay/straight alliance.
Shadowen says his organization promoted critical thinking about religion amidst an array of differing opinions — a fundamental aspect of any academic institution, he says.
“Duquesne is first and foremost a university, not a religious institution,” says the philosophy major. “Anyone who’s planning on attending Duquesne, and who wants to engage in intellectual debates with competing voices … might want to consider attending another university.”
The decision is similar to those made at other religiously affiliated schools. The Washington Post reports that Dayton, Notre Dame and Baylor universities have also denied requests to form groups catering to agnostics, humanists and other nontheistic students.
Jesse Galef, communications director for the Student Secular Alliance (SSA), a Columbus, Ohio-based nonprofit that promotes secular discussions among students, says schools aiming to serve their students should welcome all groups. While private schools have the right to police groups according to their beliefs, “that doesn’t make it right,” he says. “It’s a social issue, not a legal issue.”
Galef says there has been a movement toward secularism on campus. Two years ago, there were 195 SSA-affiliated groups nationwide; today there are 320.
“It’s really a big trend, especially in younger generations,” he says.
Cate Laskovics, a University of Pittsburgh senior and president of the school’s Secular Alliance group, offered Shadowen guidance on establishing a similar group at Duquesne. When she caught wind of the rejection, Laskovics says she began rounding up members of Pitt’s Secular Alliance group to protest at a later date.
“I don’t know why atheists are being singled out,” she says.
For now, the group is prohibited from meeting formally on school grounds and from receiving funds and resources, according to Shadowen.
“The school itself failed to add a new perspective,” Shadowen says, noting that the spurned group will meet — off campus — to figure out its next step. “We want to see this thing through; we want to give the university another opportunity to improve the intellectual atmosphere on campus.”
This article appears in Nov 17-23, 2011.
“Duquesne is first and foremost a university, not a religious institution,” as a subhead would have benefited from an attribution.
Let me call attention to the words “private Catholic university”. Contrast this with Shadowden’s pointing to a “celebrate diversity” banner as an example of hypocrisy confuses a marketing message with a charter. It is fully possible to celebrate something without funding it.
I say this as a non-theist with no particular fondness for Catholicism over any other of the world’s kerjillion religions, but there are probably more worthy dragons for Mr. Shadowden’s efforts than trying to compel an unabashedly private religious institution to transcend their convictions. Similarly I’d think tilting at the windmill of getting atheists.org to support a Spiritan committee to be equally foolhardy.
What a load of BS. Perhaps this student should have gone to a “secular” school, then. Or a state school. The Pitt group, for example, seems more than ready to welcome him to their ranks. PRIVATE institutions have a RIGHT to THEIR beliefs as much as individuals do. Duquesne should not be strong-armed into officially recognizing and funding an organization whose beliefs are the polar opposite of the university’s mission. And since young Nick seems a little misguided, perhaps he might be interested to know that Jews and Muslims do believe in God. Catholics haven’t cornered the market on that. So those faith-based student organizations would still be within the Duquesne mission.
Nick’s big lead statement is more correct this way: “Duquesne is first and foremost a private, Catholic university.” If he didn’t agree with the Duquesne mission (which he could not have, as an atheist, right?), why did he decide to go there? And he is welcome to start a Facebook page and get together with like-minded students. He’s not banned from starting a group, he just won’t get the promotion (and perhaps funding) he wants. (And before you haters out there feel the need to diminish my posting: no, I did not graduate from Duquesne; no, I do not go to Duquesne; and no, I am not a right-wing religious wacko. Just a citizen who thinks private organizations have a right to run their organizations in accordance with their mission statements.)
While I don’t understand why atheists would go to a Catholic school (and demand recognition), let’s take a look at the situation.
For this club to be permitted, Duquesne would have to actually care what their students think about religion, even if it differs from what they think is ‘right’. Why the hell would they do that? If they believe that Catholicism is the way, why would they be democratic or even tolerant of any different religious views? Either the clubs go against the teachings of the church, or they agree and are thus superfluous.
To Marcin: As the article states, there are Jewish and Muslim student organizations at the school. Those don’t mesh with the Catholic church teaching, but they are faith-based organizations and, therefore, not diametrically opposed to the charter of a private religious institution. With all due respect, atheism is not a religious view, it is an anti-religious view. As such, it is anti-faith-based education.
First of all, it should be noted that this group is meant to foster open discussion about religion, not to spew atheist propoganda. Moreover, if you would be following the story, you would know that duquesne is not a nice play for people who dont believe in god. Why did Shadowen attend Duquesne? who knows…maybe he got a scholarhsip there, maybe they had a specific academic program he wanted, maybe his parents went there, maybe close to home, maybe he arrive a catholic and a solid education turned him athest- so should he transfer? Secondly, muslim and jewish groups certainly DO contradict catholic teaching. Jews cliam that the catholic god was nothing more than a man. Thirdly, duquesne, while a private institution, receives massive amounts of federal funding every year and federal funding is predicated on federal ant-discriminatory laws. I smell a lawsuit.