Catholic Education
Catholic families continue to send their children to Catholic schools in record numbers, with some schools in suburban areas having waiting lists. Catholic parochial schools generally have a reputation for high academic achievement at both the elementary and high-school levels. Catholic education appears to make a significant difference in religious and moral behavior, with Catholic-educated young adults more likely to continue attending church and to be more sexually conservative.
The first Catholic schools in North America were founded by religious orders to train the young in reading and religion and to select candidates for the seminary. Parishes took over the task of establishing schools in the 1800s as Catholic immigrants streamed into American cities. In the United States, Catholic parochial schools remained under the control of the Church, and they have never attained full access to public funding. Catholic parochial schools do qualify for federal funding for enhancement of science and technology programs. States with charter school or voucher programs may approve credits to parents who pay tuition at Catholic schools.
In Canada, public funding for Catholic schools varies by province, from full funding in Ontario to a voucher system for religious schools in Alberta. Elected Catholic school boards run publicly funded Catholic schools. Public funding comes with complications as governments may insist on an approved curriculum, nondiscriminatory hiring policies, and liberal policies that may not concur with Catholic teaching.
Catholic schools play an important role in integrating children into the parish community. That's not just the result of the hours spent on religious instruction. The basketball courts and football fields are equally important in connecting young people to the parish. Students who go to school with other Catholics are more likely to have a network of Catholic friends as they grow older. Preparing for a First Communion or helping as an altar server among a group of peers makes the experience more memorable.
The Church views Catholic education as an important tool for setting a moral foundation for the young. Religious education and lessons on applying Catholic faith in daily life are important parts of the curriculum. Catholic schools offer instruction in sexual morality, the sanctity of family life, and the meaning of the sacraments. At the same time, there is an emphasis on academic excellence as many students continue their education at colleges and universities.
The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (or CCD), founded in the sixteenth century, is a group dedicated to promoting devotion. In most parishes in North America, the CCD is a program where children come for a few hours a week to be educated in the Catholic faith and moral values. Belonging to the CCD is especially beneficial for those who attend public school.
The earliest universities in Europe operated under papal charter, among them the University of Paris, Oxford University, and the University of Bologna. The University of Paris was an influential school of theology that attracted clergy from throughout Europe. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, there was a rise in interest in learning, resulting in groups of scholars or clergy in the large cities gathering together to exchange ideas. In the thirteenth century, these centers of learning sought papal charters or royal charters, so both civil and religious authorities played a role in the founding of the great universities. These places of learning taught the law, the arts and philosophy, medicine, and theology.
In the New World, the earliest Catholic colleges were established as a way of training priests and female religious in their vocations. But after 1900, higher education started gaining momentum as Catholics began to recognize the power education had to encourage upward mobility. Catholic colleges and universities were created to compete with secular and Protestant institutions and to continue the work of the parochial schools in forming young men and women as “citizens for the city of God.” The colleges were under the control of religious orders and staffed by priests or nuns. The teaching approach was conservative, emphasizing Catholic doctrine and limiting opportunities for women to teaching, nursing, social work, and home economy.
Following World War II, many young men flowed into the universities on the G.I. Bill. These former soldiers were interested in earning academic credentials that would improve their career prospects. Pressured to provide superior education, Catholic colleges and universities sought to improve the quality of Catholic education. Laypeople were brought in to teach secular subjects like science and technology.
During the 1960s, there was a revolution in Catholic academia as universities and colleges sought separate incorporation. Independent boards of trustees were set up to run the colleges and universities, and religious orders turned over property and charters to these new boards. The tight control exercised by the Church was broken, and boards began building institutions such as University of Notre Dame and Fordham University into the some of the best schools in the country. In the 1970s, the universities gained access to federal funding on the same basis as other institutions of higher learning.
Charles Curran, a well-respected Catholic theologian at Catholic University, opposed the Church's stand against birth control. A 1966 strike by fellow faculty members over academic freedom forced the university to keep him on. It was 1989 before the Congregation on the Doctrine of the Faith forced Curran's removal from his post as a teacher of theology.
The creation of a more secular environment left campuses struggling with secular issues — such as who to hire and whether Catholic faith should be a prerequisite, how to improve the opportunities for minority groups in higher education and how to handle academic freedom. Many lay professors who joined these institutions assumed the right to academic freedom. Yet professors who spoke freely, especially on issues such as contraception and abortion, found themselves on a collision course with the Vatican.
The Vatican moved to reassert some kind of control, demanding that professors who teach theological studies be appointed with approval of the local bishops. Pope John Paul II's 1990 document on the relationship between universities and the Church,
Many of the students who streamed into Catholic universities throughout the 1970s are now affluent alumni who can support their alma maters. The United States now has 238 Catholic colleges and universities providing higher education to more than 600,000 students. They are located in forty of the fifty states and include — among many — the University of Saint Louis, the University of New Rochelle, and Georgetown University.
Many of the nineteen Catholic colleges of Canada have merged with the public university system, including St. Michael's College, now part of the University of Toronto; St. Jerome's at University of Waterloo; and St. Paul's at the University of Manitoba. Only St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick, remain separate universities. Some have evolved into theological schools, including the faculty of theology at
Catholic intellectuals still struggle with the question of how much the North American universities remain Catholic. There are pro-abortion and homosexual rights organizations on campus. Faculties are not universally Catholic, nor do all the teachings reflect the position of the Church. Students at these colleges meet and befriend other Catholic students, but, immersed in a secular college environment, they are also part of a much wider circle. Debate rages even inside the departments of theology, where outspoken faculty members question the direction of the Church.
