Megan Sullivan

I want them to realize that if you really are interested in this faith tradition, you better be ready to debate.

Because there are going to be big questions coming at you from left and right and center if you decide that you're going to be a Catholic when you grow up.

And you're going to have to get comfortable wrestling with the messiness.

Yeah, I got in trouble.

I'm probably going to get in trouble again for saying this.

My students in my God and the Good Life class, the big project that they work on is they compose this big philosophical essay that we call their philosophical apology.

Not their apology like, I'm sorry for my views.

but apology in the ancient Greek sense of apologia, like a defense of their views and a reasoned story-based argument for why they see the world the way that they do.

And inevitably, I have some students in that class who take the opportunity of having this really great philosophy class, and they write what I would call their atheist coming out essay on

It turns out, you know, it turns out maybe they have been a part of Catholic schools their entire life.

But for years, they have not really been buying it.

And now they finally have this great philosophy class and they've had the opportunity to read.

You push them over the edge.

I know this is going to get me fired.

This is going to get me totally fired.

But it's true.

And you know what, Manoush?

I help those students write those essays.

I don't tell them what to say.

Obviously, I disagree with them.