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‘For anybody out there who thinks that our students aren’t looking to be nourished in their faith, this is evidence to the contrary,’ professor says

The University of Notre Dame’s new course on C. S. Lewis’s works has drawn 465 students to the largest classroom on campus this semester.

Even though this course does not fulfill any graduation requirements, class enrollment at the Indiana Catholic university reached maximum capacity —and some unregistered students still attended just to sit in the aisles, Professor William Mattison III told The College Fix. 

He called the course “a beautiful sign of the Spirit.” Meanwhile, a conservative advocate told The Fix Lewis’s truth-seeking approach is vital for a rigorous education.

C.S. Lewis, a renowned 20th-century theologian and author, wrote across genres about living virtuously.

The class, titled “C. S. Lewis on God, Evil, Virtue and Vice,” focuses on Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters, Mere Christianity, and The Great Divorce, exploring fundamental Christian tenets through questions of good and evil and their impact on the human experience, according to The Irish Rover.

Mattison told The Fix, “For anybody out there who thinks that our students aren’t looking to be nourished in their faith, this is evidence to the contrary.”

Mattison views Lewis’s books as important works for wrestling with these big questions while relating them to students’ own experiences.

“Our claims about who God is and why there’s evil in the world actually play out in the drama of our own lives, individually and communally,” he said.

Mattison said he hopes students will walk away appreciating the intellectual robustness and practicality of faith as they “build the habit of sharing their faith lives with those around them.”

As part of the coursework, students are required to “write their own Screwtape Letters, set in the life of a Notre Dame student,” The Irish Rover reported.

“They’re supposed to write from the perspective of the demons, how to tempt someone to do something badly, and in doing so, show that they have an insightful awareness of how human persons operate and how they can do so in a manner that’s reflective of God’s way or not God’s way,” Mattison told The Observer.

The professor hopes to compile the best submissions into a potential book called The Devilish Leprechaun Letters.

Adding a broader perspective, Joseph Backholm, a senior fellow at the Family Research Council, told The College Fix theologians like Lewis are integral to an intellectually rigorous education.

“C. S. Lewis is just accessible to people who love to think about things that matter,” he said.

“The purpose of education is to find the truth, and for those of us who are Christians, we are Christian not because it’s practical or helpful, but because it’s actually true,” he said.

Echoing this emphasis on faith, Michael Urban, a junior at Notre Dame, told The Fix “Everything that’s gained is purely spiritual, and it’s beautiful to see that come to fruition as we talk with each other.”

“It truly is amazing how we all really just want to be nourished spiritually,” he said.

The class “feels like a big reunion of friends even though I don’t know many of the people in the room … but you can tell they want to be there,” he said.

The course builds on the school’s popular spring 2024 one-credit class on Augustine’s Confessions, led by Father Kevin Grove, which sparked hope among conservatives online, The College Fix previously reported.

MORE: Catholic group denounces Wellesley ‘Queer Bible’ class

IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: University of Notre Dame sign on campus; Katherine Welles/Shutterstock

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