As my children have gone through school – all in Catholic schools – I often found myself disappointed with the lack of depth in their religion classes. I suspect this is more the rule than the exception.
My high schoolers, for instance, have often brought home a rudimentary textbook for theology class while bringing home an advanced college text for their physics or calculus class. Is not theology infinitely more important than the other classes?
The schools my children attend offer advanced placement classes in science, English, and history. However, theology seems to plod along at a very languid pace. There does not appear to be an outlet for students who seek deeper knowledge and understanding.
I liken the disparity in depth and difficulty to a scene in the book (or movie) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In this tale, a naive administration supplies pre-school books to high school students as a means of teaching defense against the dark arts. The goal is to provide learning in a secure, risk-free way by learning theoretical knowledge.
Ironically, Catholic schools and probably parish Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) programs (sometimes called Faith Formation) often deliver religion and theology classes in the same manner. Catholic schools offer very little practical knowledge or practice to prepare a defense against the dark elements of the real world. I can only wonder about the teaching in CCD classes.
A Revelation from A Priest
When my youngest started second grade, two years ago, I was perplexed to find his classroom decorated with a very protestant version of the 10 commandments. This, along with other issues with my older children’s curriculum, concerned me. Those concerns led me to reach out to the priest in charge of religious education at the group of schools my children attended.
I met with him over lunch to share with him my observations and propose some alternatives. What he shared with me opened my eyes.
“You need to understand that our teachers are not Catechized.”
He postulated correctly that the teacher did not understand many of the differences between Catholicism and Protestantism. She was unknowingly blind and leading the blind.
Danger of Education Is the Illusion of It
His observation was accurate. Moreover, this problem is not confined to just my children’s small schools.
Personally, I had 12 years of Catholic education. But all of this schooling did not Catechize me. Quite the contrary, I would say that my high school theology classes pushed me toward atheism.
The 12 years of weak classes were just an illusion of a Catholic education. I remember my school teaching that Pope Paul the VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae was poorly written and riddled with errors. We never actually read the encyclical, but we believed our teachers.
After reading Humanae Vitae as an adult, I was shocked to find how misled I was. Pope Paul VI was spot on and prophetic in many ways.
I can give many more examples. Be that as it may, the 12 years were a sham. I did not really start learning about Catholicism until returning to the Church and seeking out a true Catechesis in the Faith.
If the 12 years I spent in Catholic school did little for me, how could I expect the teachers in my children’s schools to be any different?
Do You Know Anyone Who Is Catechized?
To take this observation a step further, do you know anyone who is really Catechized? Not just someone who has taken theology classes, but someone who is truly Catechized. I imagine the list is not very long.
If I added the qualifier “any lay person,” I suspect the list would be shorter still.
Looking back in time, part of the reason few were trained in the Faith is that few could read. Literacy is a modern phenomenon.
Today, 85% of global population is literate. This is an amazing shift in just 200 years. In 1800, the world literacy rate stood at around 12%. In such a world, Catholics had to pass on Catechism orally. And back then, one often took care of the fields first to avoid starvation during the winter. Catechesis often had to wait.
Happily this has changed. Unfortunately, however, the literate in our modern world must contend with many more distractions. Unlike 200 years ago, winter starvation is less of a concern for most. Sports, twitter, and other diversions pilfer our attention instead.
If one wants to be Catechized, one must take on the task by oneself. And it takes a deliberate effort.
Rigorous Education and Self-Improvement
The responsibility rests with us. Each of us must learn to see or remain blind in the Faith.
Dr. W. Edwards Deming included in his 14 key principles the need to institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement. Why not apply this principle to the improvement of our soul?
Our modern world has blessed us with many resources with which to make self-study feasible. Today, it is possible to listen and watch great Catholic teachers such as Bishop Barron. One can also learn from the likes of Archbishop Fulton Sheen. We can even listen to old radio programs, like those given by C.S. Lewis during World War II. They can even be heard with visual embellishments that make the concepts more interesting and easier to understand.
Throughout this article I have focused on Catechesis. However, educating ourselves in the Faith means more than just understanding the Catechism of the Catholic Church. A balance is needed. We must also seek to be Theologized, Scripturalized, Sacramentalized, and Traditionalized. Some effort must also be made to learn apologetics if one is to be effective when discussing the Faith with others, especially hostile skeptics.
We all now have the opportunity to learn to see.
11 thoughts on “Learning to See – Educating Ourselves in the Faith”
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What an arrogant essay about religious education (for which the author uses the unnecessarily fancy word “Catechesis”, and with a capital C for some unstated reason).
He declares that everyone else’s education is inadequate compared to his own. And that internet videos will improve our allegedly sorry lot? That’s laughable.
And what about the priest making snide comments that “our teachers are not Catechized-with-a-capital-C”? Hey Father, that’s squarely on YOU. Quit hob-nobbing having lunch with complainers, and teach your own classes like my parish priest did back in those evil 1970’s and 1980’s. Or write your own teaching materials. (Although I suspect this part of the story was fabricated the article; I just can’t imagine a priest undercutting his volunteers like that.)
This reply is to Larry from 24Sept22 at 11:31.
The purpose of this article was point out that few of us are truly educated in the Faith and that we should seek to educate ourselves. Moreover, we should not assume that just sending our children to CCD or school is going to get the job done.
I never stated that everyone else’s education is inadequate. I have no data to back that up. I actually stated that my education was inadequate.
With respect to what father told me over lunch, his comments were neither snide nor undercutting. They were honest and loving. His comments humbled me greatly. I had never considered the perspective and level of the teachers hired by the schools.
You very clearly imply that almost no one is educated to your satisfaction: “do you know anyone who is really Catechized? … I imagine the list is not very long. If I added the qualifier “any lay person,” I suspect the list would be shorter still.”
I know it’s easy to get online and make statements like that and expect everyone to nod their heads in agreement. With bonus points for blaming “the evil 1970’s” or similar popular excuses. And no one will call you out on such remarks. Well, I will.
And as for your priest, no his comments were not appropriate. He was bad-mouthing his employees behind their backs. That’s not professional, heck it’s not even Christian.
This reply is to Larry from 24Sept22 at 4:11.
Bless you if you and the people you know are educated in the Faith. Many of us recognize that we are not and want to change that.
When looking at the results from my parish’s survey and synod, the data shows that I am not alone. Education in the Faith and Catechesis ranked in the top 3 issues for every demographic examined. This has nothing to do with my satisfaction.
Recognizing that a problem exists and admitting that the perceived solution is not working is not blaming anyone. That is just the recognition of reality. The point of the article was intended to make us think and look to ourselves for education in the Faith.
You made the assumption that Father had not shared his assessment with the schoolteachers. He had. And I learned that the teachers are in continuing education. I should have figured that out on my own. Just as I am given a performance review by my employer and told where I need training to improve, Father does the same. Telling people their weaknesses and working to build them up I would argue is professional and Christian.
You write with passion. I propose that we change this discourse into something more positive. Can you share with me and the other readers what you believe is a good level of Faith understanding and how to achieve such a level? Many of us are struggling.
Our Religious Education, whether in a Catholic School or CCD, is weak and “watered down.”
It has been this way for quite some time, and I don’t know why. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says it all, but who will read it from cover to cover? When I converted to Catholicism, I was instructed one-to-one using a basic Baltimore Catechism–it is the Catechism of the Catholic Church summarized in a question & answer format in fewer than 150 pages! Easy to read, easy to understand, and rich in the wealth of mystery and truth that our Church has to give to us. Buy it, read it, keep it; it will change your life.
This reply is to Richard S Auciello from 23Sept22.
I agree with you. I have several editions of the Baltimore Catechism. The 1929 edition is the one that I learned the most from in my 40’s, and frankly, I continue to learn from.
I would also like to share with you something else. My mother started teaching me the 1969 edition but stopped. Just a few years ago, my mom shared with me why. She was told to stop by our pastor at that time because it was too “negative.”
Quite the contrary, I would say that my high school theology classes pushed me toward atheism.
I don’t think any rational thought process could explain such an irrational statement as this.
It’s not irrational, nor is it a particularly uncommon sentiment. What is the natural reaction when someone is trying to convince you of something that is self-evidently false even though you do not know what the truth is? I understand that it is not logically correct to say that “this argument in favor of A is clearly wrong, therefore, B must be true,” since that leaves out C-Z. But nevertheless, the push is certainly in that direction and many skeptical teenagers in Catholic schools experience it.
In ending, the one obvious fact – despite the author’s ‘12 year sham’ of Catholic education – is that the religious volunteers who seemingly did a disservice imparted enough instruction along with the sacraments to bring him back to the faith. Must be confusing to have missed out on the theological shift which emptied the pews; they’ll be studying that for the next fifty years for anyone who wants to pick up where they left off..
This reply is the Ordinary Papist’s message from 23Sept22 at 6:12AM.
Your comment claimed that my high school theology classes pushed me toward atheism was an irrational statement. I fail to understand how you can assert the statement is irrational (or rational for that matter) without more data to support or reject my claim.
To further comment on your 2nd post from 23Sept22 at 2:11PM
You offer the hypothesis that the full-time paid professionals (not volunteers) from my Catholic education provided me enough instruction to bring me back to the Faith. I gave this some thought and reject your hypothesis. God’s design of the universe is what instigated my return to the Faith. When studying entropy in thermodynamics, I started to doubt atheism. The universe clearly has a beginning and will have an end. The study of genetic code and red shift in astronomy further freed me from atheism. I must also give credit to several close friends who counseled and continue to guide me in Catechism and Apologetics.