By JAMES K. FITZPATRICK
Should secular humanism be seen by Catholic parents and teachers as an ideology that Catholics can cooperate with for the betterment of society? At first glance, one might think so. Secular humanists tell us their goal is to make the world a better place by promoting peace and social justice.
Catholics believe in those objectives. Then why not treat secular humanists as allies, and hope that our collaboration will lead them one day to appreciate the role that Jesus and His teachings play in making the world a better place?
R.W.V. of Factoryville, Pa., argues it is a mistake to think of secular humanism in this manner. He writes, “Secular humanism is a worldview that leads to moral relativism. It is not to be trusted because its precepts define moral responsibility as a variable for the individual. I am convinced that its goal is to de-Christianize the world for political gain. Secular humanists see themselves as enemies of Christianity, whether they say that openly or not. They promote an agenda of selfishness — an easy sell to those wishing to interpret their vices as virtues.”
R.W.V. contends that secular humanists are seeking “the imposition of a worldview that attempts to disguise selfishness as altruism. They call it being nonjudgmental, tolerant, respectful of diversity. Being nonjudgmental means that no one can be judgmental of you either. It permits you to do what you want in matters of morality, rather than conform your behavior to a higher code of conduct. It is a worldview that can succeed only by attacking Christianity’s belief that Jesus’ teachings are the Way, the Truth, and the Life, not merely an opinion about morality. In fact, it is a civil religion seeking to supplant Christianity as a force in shaping our culture.”
R.W.V.’s words are sobering. But there are some rays of hope poking through the gloom in the modern world. Recent events at the University of Notre Dame are an example.
The Cardinal Newman Society reported on its website (cardinalnewmansociety.org.) on December 1 that “following much discussion last year over whether Notre Dame would reduce its theology requirement from two courses to one, the committee in charge of the ten-year core curriculum review has advised that its theology courses are too essential to the University’s Catholic identity to be reduced.”
In a draft report, the committee stated, “In placing theology at the core of its Catholic liberal arts education, Notre Dame is not merely adding another discipline to the existing educational paradigm. Instead, it embraces a paradigm of the intellectual life that posits the complementarity of faith and reason.”
The above words deserve a second reading. One of the criticisms of modern Catholic universities is that their theology courses are being reduced to something comparable to a “Catholic studies” elective that one might find at a secular university. In stating specifically that theology is not merely “another discipline,” but a “paradigm” that “posits the complementarity of faith and reason,” the authors of this report at Notre Dame are rejecting the notion that Catholic theology should be relegated to just another elective in the university’s course catalog.
The committee went on to state that one of the university’s goals should be to provide “a core curriculum that sustains and can deepen the University’s commitment to its Catholic character.” Maintaining the requirement for “two theology courses” can “be seen as a barometer of our support of our Catholic mission, and backing away from these would be seen as backing away from our Catholic identity. Moving away from two required courses in theology would be a move toward secularization.”
(Just for the record: There was a time when Catholic universities in this country, as recently as the mid-1960s, routinely required a course in theology each semester — two per year, not just two over the entire time it takes a student to earn a bachelor’s degree.)
The Notre Dame committee went on to say, “Our students arrive at the University formed by a culture in which questions of faith and reason are often reduced to a sterile polarity — in which the mystery of God’s Revelation to human beings is typically said to be directly at odds with science and rationality. Theology challenges this conceptualization. Theology invites our students to broaden their horizon of understanding by grappling with the mystery of the revealed word and by seeing how, in the light of God’s Revelation, they may bring the fullness of reason and experience to bear in comprehending its meaning for all dimensions of human life.
“At its best, the science of God that is theology introduces our students to a wisdom tradition, a realm of beauty, and a depth of inquiry they may never have experienced or imagined existed.”
The committee also recommended that “students with significant background in theology upon entering Notre Dame be placed into courses above the introductory level.” The current theology requirements include a “foundational” course in Scripture and Tradition and a “developmental” course focused on exploring the important doctrines of the faith “and their application in light of modern contexts.” In contrast, the “advanced placement in theology would allow incoming students to engage in more in-depth courses at a level appropriate to their knowledge.”
Beyond this, the committee looked at the quality of instruction in the required theology courses, recommending that the introductory courses be taught by the university’s “most talented and experienced faculty,” adding that it should be a goal of the university to “ensure that an invitation to teach in the core is recognized as a reward for excellence, not a burden to be endured.”
The draft report will now undergo a period of campus-wide faculty deliberation before a final report is presented in fall 2016 to the faculty senate, academic council, and University President Fr. John Jenkins, CSC.
Good news to be sure. And reason for optimism. The final test, of course, will be the content of the required theology courses. If they end up being courses that promote the views of dissenting theologians and liberation theologians with an exalted view of Marxism’s role in history, it will be a Pyrrhic victory of the worst sort.
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Readers are invited to submit comments and questions about this and other educational issues. The e-mail address for First Teachers is fitzpatrijames@sbcglobal.net, and the mailing address is P.O. Box 15, Wallingford, CT 06492.
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