Yale University teaching fellow Julian of Norwich and Dorothy Day are highlighted as key figures in the growing Gen Z Catholic boom.
Yale University teaching fellow Julian of Norwich and Dorothy Day are featured as central figures in a growing trend of Gen Z Catholics seeking deeper intellectual engagement with their faith. Despite a shift toward secular studies in previous decades, the Catholic Intellectual Tradition course at Yale recently became the most popular history course, surpassing traditional staples like the Roman Empire. This surge in religious interest suggests that universities have previously ceded cultural ground to patriotic religious education movements. To address this, scholars argue that higher education must better integrate the complexity of Catholic thought into the liberal arts. The curriculum should include diverse voices, such as the 12th-century anchorite Julian of Norwich and the activist Dorothy Day, while exploring the global impact of Catholicism in Africa and Latin America. By engaging with these paradoxes, students can develop a stronger moral imagination and see their faith as a living, relevant part of the world rather than a isolated ideology.