For over 30 years Stephen Schneck dedicated his life to teaching at Catholic University. During his time at Catholic, he was chair of the Department of Politics from 1995 to 2007, Acting Undergraduate Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences in 1988, and from 2012 to 2013 he was appointed as the Acting Dean of the National Catholic School of Social Service. This June, Stephen was appointed by President Joe Biden to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. The interview below discusses the Commission, his time at Catholic University, and what makes the students of NCSSS so special.
For those who don't know, what is the US Commission on International Religious Freedom?
Stephen Schneck: The US Commission on International Religious Freedom was founded in the late nineties. The commission is composed of nine commissioners who are selected or were appointed, to two-year terms by various parts of government. I was appointed by President Biden in June. Five of the commissioners will be of the party of the president and four of the commissioners will be of the other party and so that's the structure.
I was appointed to a two-year term, which can be extended for an additional two-year term. That's the norm. The Commission looks at challenges to religious freedom and freedom of belief around the globe. We don't do anything domestically; we only look externally at what's happening in the rest of the world in regard to the challenges that are posed for religious freedom or freedom of belief. We look at countries and non-state actors. Famous ones would be Boko Haram or ISIS. Then we make country-specific recommendations to the Congress of the United States, the State Department, and the White House for what policies need to be put in place. We will identify countries of political concern where there are real outright abuses of religious freedom going on. In addition, we keep a victims list of people who are imprisoned, people who are tortured, or people who've been disappeared or killed because of their religion. A lot of what we do is holding these things up into the light so people can see what's happening around the world.
What aspects of Catholic University's academic culture have prepared you best for your current role?
Stephen Schneck: Because Catholic University is a religious university that is established by the Catholic Church in the United States with a pontifical mission it is a special place. The university has done so much to spark in me an awareness and a concern for the place of religion and public life. It led me to be more than a dean, to be more than a department chair, to be more than a professor of political philosophy. It really did nudge me to engage in political life itself. I got involved in politics, in part, because of this sensitivity that I developed about religion and religion's place in the public square as a result of my time at the University. I would also say the Catholic University of America is a unique place, and it attracts unique students. Students have an interest in really trying to make the world a better place. Catholic University seems to attract students who have a public spirit and spiritedness that are really intent on trying to make a difference in the world. I think that having taught for almost 35 years at the university, I can't even imagine how many thousands of students I've had in my classes all of those years. Those students shaped my own attitude and my own interest in trying to make the world a better place.
You received your Ph.D. in 1984 and worked at Catholic University until very recently. What's the biggest difference in academia you’ve seen over that span of time?
Stephen Schneck: When I started teaching at the University in 1984, computers were a new thing. It ended up dramatically shaping not just the way that we do pedagogies but the way that we do our teaching, research and how to communicate with one another. I've also seen changes taking place in the value structure of the students in universities across the country. It hasn't been a straightforward path. It's been one wave and then another and another. It's really interesting, from my perch now. Nearly 40 years from when I started teaching it's interesting to look back and think about those different waves that've gone through from the last students coming out of the baby boom to the Gen-Xers, to the Millennials, and out of the Gen-Zers. I mean, each of these cohorts brings with them a slightly different take on the way the world works. It's both been a challenge and very refreshing and exciting to live through those changes.
For Catholic University students who may want to work for the commission. What are the avenues you would suggest?
Stephen Schneck: We actually have a former student of mine who is working there, Veronica McCarthy, who has just taken a job with us. It's a full-time job on the communications staff and I would encourage anybody at the University who might be interested in this work to reach out to me personally. I'd be glad to talk with them and happy to connect with them. One of the best ways to engage with the commission, in fact, is probably not to be working with the commission directly, but rather to work with some of the NGOs and other organizations that we partner with that is probably one of the more effective and easier paths to connect with our work for sure.
Is there anything unique about the students at the School of Social Services that stood out to you compared to the other departments you've worked with?
Stephen Schneck: I loved working with the NCSSS students. I really did. They are unique. They are unique in so many ways. I mean, they are by the very nature of the work that they're signing up for. These are students that are really committed to being on the front lines with people in need, all sorts of needs from the needs of poverty, to the needs of discrimination, to health care. These are students who have enormous hearts. It's so evident immediately when you begin to deal with them. I have to say, that year or so that I was acting Dean, I found these students and I have to say, I found the faculty as well, just tremendously inspiring for me personally. I really came to admire them all. I'm so grateful and happy to have had that time. They are extraordinary people and social workers. I can't say enough good things about them and their work.
Do you have any advice for students who are considering a career in social service?
Stephen Schneck: My advice would be, it sounds simple to say, but I think because these students have such big hearts they're vulnerable in some ways. That vulnerability is what makes them so special. But it also can be a burden. It can be hard to feel so profoundly about those that are discriminated against, those who are in poverty, those who are in health care crisis, or those who need all of the kinds of interventions that social workers are called on to become involved with. I know that vulnerability sometimes can lead to a sense of helplessness or a sense of feeling overwhelmed. I guess my advice would be to not feel that way, to really recognize that even though you don't feel like you're at that particular moment making a difference, you really are making a difference. That would be my advice, to never forget that. The small things that you do make a huge difference in people's lives. You should always feel proud about that. You should always feel inspired by that. Do not let the feeling of being overwhelmed take over.
How do the Catholic faith and social service interact? And do you think they complement each other?
Stephen Schneck: I utterly think they complement each other. The NCSSS was one of the first schools of social work created in the United States. I don't know how many of the students actually know that. That makes perfect sense to someone like me who has spent a lifetime talking about the church's moral and social doctrine. When the church approaches public life, we are to preference the needs of the poor. We are to preference the needs of the marginalized. We are to preference all of those people that Jesus in the gospel talks about. It's that fundamental. That is the fundamental message of Christianity if you think about it. That fundamental message is at the heart of what social work is about as well. It's easy to say it's so obvious and easy to say this and to see this. But at the same time, and particularly at the Catholic University, it can't be said often enough. The school of social work, in many ways, represents the very heart of what Christianity is supposed to be about.