Over at Mirror of Justice, legal scholar Michael Perry alerts readers (and new St. Thomas law prof Rob Vischer) that NPR has identified the University of St. Thomas School of Law as one of four "conservative" Christian law schools, along with Ave Maria, Regent, and Liberty, the former being two fine schools, the latter is Falwell's new start-up in Lynchburg.
Interestingly, following through to the link Perry posted no longer lists the University of St. Thomas School of Law as one the four "conservative" Christian law schools. Hmmm. Do you think the PR people at UST rushed to make sure their new enterprise (that, incidentally, does heavy advertising on MPR) isn't identified as conservative so as not to scare off the progressive, idealistic second career folks who might choose to attend? Might the threat of lossed advertising revenue have something to do with MPR's decision to "pull" St. Thomas off the list? Is MPR's journalistic integrity being influenced by St. Thomas?
UST continues to shoot itself in the foot, trying to be all things to all people. In the end, no one is pleased and the university suffers. Why can't they make the easy distinction that rather than "conservative," they are committed to faithful adherence to Catholic orthodoxy and the teaching of the Magisterium? Or, is that a message they don't wish to communicate?
UPDATE: UST Law's Greg Sisk has a posting at MOJ proclaiming that UST is not "conservative" but instead "Catholic." OK, fine, but the point is that the school was lumped in with the others (and how much of this controversy relates to not wanting to be associated with those other schools?), because UST Law is a religiously conservative (at least theoretically, or hopefully) institution. To secular folks that might mean UST is backward-looking, narrow, or close-minded, but to others, religious "conservatism" or orthodoxy means radical dynamism, a faith powerful enough to transform the world. The label should be embraced, not rejected, because young idealistic Christians are looking for a place where they can be formed in the law within the orthodox Christian, particularly Catholic, tradition. There are a zillion "Catholic" law schools out there, but they are largely indistinguishable (as previous MOJ posts have pointed out) from their secular counterparts. Besides an unstable institution like Ave Maria (or, to a lesser extent Notre Dame Law School), shouldn't there be some "institutional diversity" out there, a gap maybe UST Law could fill? By needlessly rejecting the label "conservative" and removing itself from a list that includes Regent and Ave Maria, St. Thomas says in effect (along with the "we have gays, blacks, and all sorts of people that look different or are indifferent to Catholicism!" -- which, BTW, was the same line the UST admission department gave to my then-Presbyterian wife to induce her to attend UST), that it is just like every other Catholic school. You can come here and not be "oppressed" or "imposed" upon. This is dismaying to folks who want to engage the tradition heartily, and it is later dismaying to folks who want to avoid the faith, but have bought the misleading advertising and then are stuck in a jurisprudence course or with a professor who likes to raise philosophical or religious views in the classroom.
I am all for welcoming people of different races and backgrounds into the intellectual community, and actually do think it adds to the quality of the educational experience. But I am continually perplexed why we expect so much accomodation by our own tradition and institutions, and don't ask those that don't share our religious commitments to accomodate our mission if they choose to attend our school. A Catholic Law School should have a jurisprudence course, where folks such as Aristotle, Aquinas, the Spanish scholastics and others are covered in detail. It should have a PR course that touches on issues that may create conflicts of interest for people of faith. It should also have a course in canon law, bioethics and law (in this day and age), and a required course in Catholic Social Thought. By having these requirements and course offerings, no one is imposing anything on anyone. If you don't like them, don't come to the school. It is a two way street. The tension that arises when students are misled into thinking UST is this muliticulturalist, Catholic-lite institution are often disappointed, and deeply hinders the practical mission of being an engaging Catholic university that welcomes other perspectives into the conversation without being absorbed by them. Be honest and clear about the mission. People actually might come even if they aren't "conservative" or Catholic.
I chose the University of Minnesota Law School rather than a consciously Catholic institution because after two degrees at St. Thomas and time in Rome, I wanted a secular, and what I knew would be a liberal perspective. It would sharpen my arguments and help me critically engage the secular legal worldview. Ave Maria law school has a very diverse student body, with folks from all over the racial and religious map. Often, folks end up coming to Ave Maria and becoming Catholics themselves. That is because the school appears to focus on formation as well as academic training. Isn't that a concept that should be embraced by more places, perhaps like UST, which doesn't have to carry all of Ave Maria's baggage???