Faith at the School of Law

The University of St. Thomas School of Law welcomes students, faculty and staff of all faiths, and those unconnected to organized religion. Our community includes Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Lutherans, Buddhists and Mennonites. Within our walls, all are welcome.

Because we are a Catholic law school, we can be open about our beliefs. We can talk about how faith and reason can be integrated not only in the world of ideas, but in the day-to-day lives of practicing attorneys. Our faculty members challenge students to consider how they can practice law consistently with their personal convictions, including convictions grounded in faith. Our students strengthen and refine their moral compasses while learning the law.

In short, religious considerations can be put “on the table” at this Catholic law school in a way that they cannot at a secular law school. Phrased differently, our community fosters and reflects all the views and perspectives found at a secular law school but also allows students to share their faith perspectives.

Faith is something that is lived out at the School of Law in a variety of different ways.  Students participate in religious services, and there are ample opportunities in the building or within a few blocks to worship.  Each day the school of law sets aside thirty minutes in the middle of the day when there is no class for students to use that time for reflection if they choose. 

Another distinctive of the School of Law is the way that faith is lived out in the community.  The students, faculty, and staff at the School of Law perform service in the community demonstrating a commitment not just to the idea of faith, but to the tenet that faith is something that is to be lived out daily.  This not only happens in formal ways, but the School of Law strives to create and environment where this also true in the interactions that take place within the community.

At St. Thomas Law, we do all the things that are typically done at outstanding law schools. We teach and learn; research, write and publish; bring in academic and professional speakers; and host conferences. But we do it while integrating faith and reason in the search for truth through a focus on morality and social justice.