The Denomination Report: Roman Catholics

By Marian Pope

Roman Catholics compose 1.6% of the student body, a minority among other denominations at Cedarville University. Three students – Andrew McDougall, Robert Esquivel and Jonathan Freidl – stepped out in faith to share their stories about their experiences on campus. 

Andrew McDougall, a sophomore Cyber Operations major, was not originally Roman Catholic, he converted to Catholicism last year. 

“Justifying my belief system by saying ‘Yeah, it’s just what my parents believe,’ is not good enough for me,” McDougall said. “I wanted to make sure.” 

Then, he met the woman who would later become his fiancee: Callie.

“She was Catholic, and so I looked into what they believed and I was like ‘Well, is this even a possibility?’ Because if it’s not, then I’m not going to do it, but if what I find is what I believe to be true, then it might be worth pursuing,” McDougall said. “Turns out it was.”

 Coming to Cedarville allowed McDougall to be close to his family as well as his fiance. In addition, McDougall says he likes that it is a lively Christian school. But, sadly, McDougall struggles with living out his Catholic faith on campus because, being in the unpopular minority, he feels it would only separate him from his classmates. 

“When I disagree with what they’re saying…I just kind of got to nod along,” McDougall said. “I don’t feel as comfortable being completely open and… because it’s not a Catholic school and it’s not a very popular opinion, I am well within the minority here.”

Particularly, McDougall finds it hard when people do not understand the Catholic faith and say things about Catholicism that are not true.

 “It’s hard to just sit down and take it,” McDougall said. “A lot of people like to take shots at us, and I just don’t feel like I can respond to it.”

 Since coming to Cedarville, McDougall has strengthened his faith in response to the differences pointed out by his peers. When people question Catholicism, it motivates McDougall to dig deep and have an answer for what he believes.

 “While being a little bit isolating in the sense that there aren’t many Catholics around that I know, until this point, I think it’s still a really good school,” McDougall said. “I think I am learning a lot, and I think there is really good fellowship. And I think, ‘Would I do it again? Probably.’”

Cedarville’s sports attracted Roberto Esquivel, a sophomore Finance major and a member of the tennis team, but he also came to appreciate the Christian atmosphere. Unlike McDougall, Esquivel grew up in a Catholic household and has been Catholic his whole life.

Esquivel originally did not go to Cedarville University but attended the University of West Virginia, however when it closed its tennis program, he had to transfer. Cedarville offered him a scholarship and he accepted it. Esquivel now feels more comfortable than at his old school. 

“Cedarville is like a bubble from the outside,” Esquivel said. “So whenever I’m here, I feel like I boost my confidence and my relationship with Christ.”

However, being in Cedarville University is not without its challenges. 

“The hard thing is they are always trying to change my religion,” Esquivel said. “They are always trying to say why the Christians are better than the Catholics, and that is something I really don’t like.”

Just like Esquivel, Jonathan Friedl, a junior Civil Engineering major, has been Catholic his whole life. Unlike Esquivel, he was not originally as passionate about his faith until he came to Cedarville University.

Reflecting on his time at Cedarville, Friedl believes Cedarville strengthened him in his Catholic faith. He was a luke-warm Catholic, but in his first semester, he started listening to a podcast by the Catholic priest, Fr. Mike Schmitz. Listening to Fr. Schmitz helped him realize things about his Catholic faith that Friedl had never considered before.

“It’s the only denomination that hasn’t changed in two thousand years like with any other denomination,” Friedl said. “It’s obviously based on the Bible, we aren’t taking things out of context, like people like to say, and I also realized there are a lot of misconceptions about the Catholic faith on campus as well.”

Just like McDougall, when people ask questions about Friedl’s faith, if he does not have an answer, he is encouraged to dig deeper and research so he knows.

“I’ve met a lot of strong Christian people [at Cedarville] that truly love God… that help me to grow into the faith and stuff,” Friedl said. “It’s made me pick up a lot of good habits coming here.”

Sadly, not all of Friedl’s experiences here have been pleasant.

“There’s been a few times where people have just stopped talking to me because they found out, I was Catholic and stuff,” Friedl said “[It was] the worst thing in the world to them or something.”

Despite the rare challenging instances that McDougall, Esquivel and Friedl shared, they still hope for communication and understanding across the denominations. 

“At the end of the day, we all believe in Christ as our salvation,” Esquivel said.

Marian Pope is a sophomore in the Professional Writing and Information Design program. When she is not working on homework, she can be found biking, reading, plotting stories, or spending time with friends and family over a cup of coffee.