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Note: The following piece was authored as part of our 18th JUSTus Podcast.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) is about recognizing, valuing, and supporting people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, religions, socioeconomic statuses, and other backgrounds. It reflects a shared belief and culture of understanding, respect, and acceptance for everyone.
Is DEI in the Catholic Church?
Yes and No.
Catholic social teaching rests on the conviction that every person is created in the image of God and therefore endowed with dignity. Published in American Magazine, Devron writes that “the path we seek to follow with the poor is one that promotes social justice and the change of economic, political, and social structures that generate injustice”(Devron, SJ 2024).
Catholic Social Teaching is not a theory or an intellectual exercise. It is a way for people of faith to live the Gospel in a broken and suffering world. In other words, in addition to being grounded in scripture, the lens of social justice is shaped by Catholic Social Teaching, the official instruction on social issues from the Pope or Catholic Bishops.
So … no. Catholic Dioceses in the U.S., for the most part, function under the U.S. legal concepts of justice that guide our labor laws, educational institutions, and the justice department itself. Where justice ensures fairness and equality. Fairness is the equal treatment of all individuals and groups without discrimination or bias. And equality is the equal treatment of all individuals based on the assumption that all individuals begin at the same starting point.
Yet, on the other hand, the answer to the question about DEI and the Catholic Church is yes. The Catholic Church has a foundation that is steeped in social justice. Diversity, equity, and inclusion can be found in Catholic institutions that are separate from the institutional Catholic dioceses and archdioceses.
DEI is active and prospering in Catholic high schools founded and run by religious orders such as Jesuits, St. Joseph of Carondelet, Christian Brothers, and the Benedictines. DEI is active and prospering in Catholic peace and justice organizations like Network Lobby, Catholic Mobilizing Network, and Pax Christi USA.
And DEI is active and moving in Catholic schools of higher education, such as the University of Notre Dame, Marian University, St. Mary of the Woods College, Boston College, Georgetown University, etc. Well… at least until more recent times.
DEI and the U.S. Department of Education
On Valentine’s Day of 2025, the U.S. Department of Education issued a stark warning to schools and universities: eliminate all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs or risk losing federal funding. The directive came from the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). This very office is responsible for protecting the rights of students of color, students with disabilities, and other underrepresented and marginalized groups.
This move aligns with the Project 2025, a plan that threatens to roll back progress toward racial and economic justice in public education by dismantling programs that support student success. Embraced by President Trump’s administration, Project 2025’s “Mandate For Leadership” is a 900-page manual for reorganizing the entire federal government agency by agency to serve a conservative agenda.
The proposed elimination of more than $370 million in federal grants, which currently support student mental health services, campus support programs, and initiatives aimed at increasing college completion. The current One Big Beautiful Bill proposal will have the most significant impact on schools that are already struggling to serve low-income, first-generation, and students of color. These cuts are not about saving money… These cuts are about shutting doors.
In late June, the U.S. Senate unveiled its version of the budget reconciliation bill. It is an even more damaging iteration of the One Big Beautiful Bill, eliminating more than $900 billion in federal funding, services, and support.
Analysts warn that dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and the supporting activities and funding is more than a political move. It is an educational and economic disaster in the making.
“It (DEI) was put in place to ensure lower-qualified white people were not hired instead of more highly qualified minorities.” — Calvin & Hobbes
It is through the work of DEI that we can make a difference by making an effort to:
Close equity gaps,
Improve graduation rates, and
Create supportive, inclusive environments where all students can thrive and pursue their goals.
DEI efforts make campuses more aware and representative of our nation’s diversity. DEI programs and training efforts strengthen institutions by promoting dialogue, mentorship, and essential academic and mental health support.
Today, students of color make up over half of the K–12 population and nearly 45 percent of those enrolled in colleges and universities. Silencing their voices, erasing their histories, and cutting the programs that support their success will only deepen racial and economic inequalities, widen achievement gaps, and weaken the future workforce our country depends on.
But it doesn’t stop there. This isn’t just a fight to save DEI. It’s a fight for the future of education. If we allow these programs and resources to be dismantled, we risk letting an extreme social worldview agenda decide who gets to succeed and who gets left behind.
Talk with families who have students entering higher education this fall. Suggest that they do not send their children to schools that do not support diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Make a list of the schools of higher education in your State. Find out the name of the office and the person in charge of the old DEI programs. Then place a phone call to find out how the DEI programs are in force now and volunteer to help in some manner.
The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, are a congregation of Roman Catholic women religious (sisters) who minister throughout the United States and Taiwan. Saint Mother Theodore Guerin founded the Sisters of Providence in 1840. The congregation has a mission of being God's Providence in the world by committing to performing works of love, mercy and justice in service among God's people.
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