You are reading this today because I took required "core" courses, including two in theology, when I was an undergraduate student at the University of Notre Dame. It's fair to say that I would not be a columnist for the National Catholic Reporter if it hadn't been for those general education requirements.
So it's not surprising that I was a little taken aback to hear that the university is considering dropping or changing them. This past spring semester, a committee charged with reviewing Notre Dame's core curriculum and general education requirements spoke publicly about one option that might replace the required theology and/or philosophy courses with ones from other departments that cover the Catholic intellectual tradition -- say, a literature course on Dante.
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