Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Do Catholic Universities Have a Constitutional Right to Employ Affirmative Action Practices?


Affirmative action is an aspect of the college admissions process that has been long criticized. Affirmative action was first introduced on a legislative scale in an executive order from President John F. Kennedy in 1961. The order decreed that in a professional environment, a contractor “will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.” Within the context of college admissions, affirmative action is intended to alleviate some of the obstacles and discrimination faced by racial minorities, as it allows colleges and universities to consider the race of their applicants.

There have been many Supreme Court cases regarding affirmative action, and the practice is often the source of much political discontent. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear two cases regarding affirmative action this year, and these decisions have the potential to end the practice altogether. In response to these cases being put in front of the Supreme Court, Georgetown University, a Jesuit institution, filed an amicus brief, along with 56 other Catholic Universities alleging that because of their status as religious institutions and the necessity of diversity to their religious mission, their right to consider race in the application process is protected under the free exercise clause of the first amendment.

The brief discusses the admissions process as it stands at many of these universities, defining it as a holistic approach that does take race into account with the purpose of maintaining a diverse student body as to further their goals rooted in Catholicism. The brief argues that because of their status as Catholic institutions, the included universities have a unique perspective on the affirmative action issue. The brief begins with a discussion of Catholic teachings, arguing that they “emphasize the dignity of each individual and the importance of service to the underrepresented.” Because of this pillar of Catholic education, diversity within Catholic institutions is vital to furthering their ultimate pedagogical goal. The brief outlines four reasons for the importance of diversity within Catholic higher education: First, the dynamic environment that comes along with diversity furthers Catholic values such as rigorous thinking and empathy. Second, a diverse environment leads to personal growth, which goes towards the Catholic pedagogical goal of tolerance. Third, social justice is a pinnacle of Catholicism, and thus it is the responsibility of Catholic universities to provide opportunities to underrepresented groups. And finally, it is a mission of Catholic education to create thoughtful, creative, and diverse leaders, which will only result from a diverse educational environment.

After outlining the argument for why diversity is so important for Catholic higher education, the brief argues that because of this, the right of Catholic universities to use affirmative action processes to ensure a diverse class of students is protected under the free-exercise clause of the first amendment. The brief cites multiple free exercise cases tied to education, including Wisconsin v. Yoder, a Supreme Court case in which under the free exercise clause, Amish families were granted the right to withhold their children from school because they believed a traditional education went directly against Amish teachings. The brief argues that all of these cases emphasize the importance of people being able to exercise their religion freely, and goes on to make the argument that the issue of allowing Catholic universities to continue their affirmative action practices is no different, Because diversity is so closely tied to the universities’ religious mission, not allowing them to continue to attempt to create as diverse a class as possible inhibits their free exercise.

While I can agree with the authors of this brief that a diverse educational environment is important, I do not believe that the end of affirmative action practices would inhibit the free-exercise of Catholic universities. All of the Catholic principles discussed in the brief could easily be secular principles, and the brief does not make a strong argument as to why, exactly, they are tied to Catholicism. Additionally, there are other efforts that can be made for Catholic universities to secure a diverse class of students without affirmative action, such as increasing outreach and making students of color feel safe on campus so that other students of color are more compelled to apply in the future. Because of the other alternatives that can be taken, the end of affirmative action would not inhibit Georgetown or the other 56 universities’ free exercise of religion–while affirmative action being abolished might make it more difficult for colleges to increase their diversity, it would force them to consider other ways to foster a diverse and inclusive campus environment.

7 comments:

  1. This is a very tricky topic to cover. One one hand, I do agree that Catholicism is deeply rooted in diversity, if only based on their scripture, for their teachings involve spreading the word of God to people of all races and backgrounds. However, I am inclined to agree with Jillian in the fact that having Affirmative Action does not have to be the only way that a University can diversify their student population. Having more outreach and making sure to recruit people of all backgrounds and races should not have to be bound to Affirmative Action. Based on this understanding, I would have to side with Jillian by saying that Catholic scripture is deeply rooted in diversity, meaning that these Universities should not be having any trouble finding more ways of outreach without Affirmative Action if that is truly their message.

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  2. I agree with the court in this case, and I do think Catholic schools should be allowed to use Affirmative Action. The schools say that diversifying the school is very important in aligning with their Catholic beliefs. I believe that this is sincere because of the fact that 56 universities agree with this policy. It would also be a substantial burden on the school to get rid of Affirmative Action because Catholicism runs the school, and without this core policy, the school would be changed. Diversity allows for the school to follow their main principles and Affirmative Action is the most efficient way to achieve this.

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  3. Jillian, I think you did a great job with this post and brought up a good point: Would the lack of Affirmative Action substantially burden the universities’ Catholic pursuance of diversity? Their exercise of religious beliefs is centered around diversity in Catholic higher education, not affirmative action itself, so these beliefs would not be infringed upon if the practice of affirmative action ended. As Jillian explained, there are alternative ways to promote diversity on campus and further the universities’ ultimate goal. Affirmative action possibly made this goal easier to achieve, but without affirmative action, this goal is not impossible if diversity is truly their motive.

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  4. Great post, Jillian! I have to agree with you in the sense that there are other ways to promote diversity other than Affirmative Action. Due to the school being Catholic, I wonder why the state could take away Affirmative Action away from a private, non-state funded, university. Catholism is rooted on diversity, and I feel as if the schools without Affirmative Action would measure up to diversity quotas. One question I would raise is if Catholic and other religious schools want to be held to diversity quotas such as Affirmative Action, would they also want to have diversity in the sense of having an LGTBQ quota? I would think that they would not, but I am curious to hear your views on this matter.

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  5. I really liked your post and I think you had a strong conclusion/outcome on this case! I agree that ending Affirmative Action would not prevent Catholic Universities’ from achieving diversity, thereby expressing their religious beliefs, but rather it would require them to create new ways of reaching out to more students or helping students through tutoring or curriculum in order to acquire a more diverse and qualified student body. On another note, it would force them to have to foster a more inclusive campus environment rather than merely emitting students and saying that they are “inclusive”. Moreover, I think it can really enhance the quality of schools if the Court ended up deciding to terminate Affirmative Action programs entirely. I know it’s not brought up here, but I believe Affirmative Action is generally more thought of in the realm of whether or not its discriminatory to select on the basis of race. However, I believe regardless of that decision, Catholic Universities should look elsewhere to ensure diversity, as it can be accomplished not only through race (Affirmative Action programs), but also through diversity of thought, further enriching one's educational experience.

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  6. I agree with Jillian that the goals of the catholic university can be achieved in other ways, and while rooted in catholic beliefs the ending of affirmative action doesn’t prevent the university from creating the diverse student body they hope to achieve. In addition there are many other universities that take on a holistic approach to admission that would also have to find alternative measures to creating a diverse student body. Not being able to see a potential student's race on their application doesn’t hinder their ability to exercise religion. As a private Jesuit institution they can still promote their beliefs through teachings at their university and accept students who they think would be able to do that. There are many components to one application that can help create a group of diverse thinkers and students. The ending to affirmative action doesn’t inhibit the ability to practice one's religion or the institution's ability to function as a religious university.

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  7. I really liked your post Jillian, and I have to agree with you. It doesn’t take affirmative action programs to ensure a diverse student body, as you said increasing outreach and fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment for all students are great ways to attract a more diverse pool of students in the future. Thousands of schools have done away with affirmative action programs and have successfully attracted a diverse student body. Furthermore as M. Kjeldgaard stated, when a student doesn’t record their race or religious affiliation on an application, it doesn’t hinder that childs ability to study their religion once accepted into the school. The universities are still able to provide classes and clubs to their students surrounding religion.

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