After reviewing all the issues studied in this course, the one area where I feel most confident, and would therefore call the "easiest issue" is in the area of Catholic identity. Studying at Marymount has allowed me to deepen my understanding of Catholic identity, and that understanding conforms to the discussion of Catholic identity found in the Handbook of Research on Catholic Education (Hunt, Joseph & Nuzzi, 2004), where identity is included in the theology that makes Catholic schools Catholic (p.31). Simply put, Catholic identity emerges from the theology of Catholicism and the truths taught by the church. Moreover, in an age when Catholic school enrollment is on the decline, successful schools are those who have remained true to their
Saunders, William P. Straight Answers: Answers to 100 Questions about the Catholic Faith. Baltimore, MD: Cathedral Foundation, 1998. Print.
Celtic vs. Rangers: Catholicism vs. Protestantism Most European cities can boast of a professional football (soccer) club and a competitive rivalry with a neighboring team. However, Glasgow, Scotland is the home of one of the oldest and most heated rivalries in the world. Two of the most prestigious football clubs in Europe, Celtic and Rangers, both call Glasgow their home. The cross-town rivals first met on the pitch on February 28, 1888.
The goal of this paper is to determine if the Catholic religion has continued to modernize since Vatican II. In order to help analyze the modernization of Catholicism, this paper will examine the immigration of Catholics to America in the 19th and 20th centuries. Throughout this paper, I will reference Dr. Julie Byrne’s commentary, a professor in American religious history at Duke University, as a means of explaining how Catholicism has assimilated into American culture. Next, this paper suggests three challenges that Catholics are presently facing in the 21st century. Finally, this paper will elaborate on the growth in “irreligious Catholics” and its potential dangers. Although Catholicism assimilated into American culture during the 19th and 20th centuries, research and the rise in “irreligious Catholics” in the 21st century suggests it is possible that Catholicism has not continued to modernize.
In Montgomery Gentry’s hit song “Where I Come From”, he sings about his small town southern pride. In this country tune, the line “That little white church is gonna have a crowd,” is accompanied by lyrics about a town that could easily be located in East Tennessee. One thing that can be assumed from Gentry’s song is that the, “Little white church” he sings about is probably not a Catholic cathedral. In southern towns, like the one Gentry sings about, Protestant churches drastically outrank Catholic churches. In Kingsport Tennessee, Catholic churches are outnumbered forty two to one by Baptist churches alone. This statistic makes it easy to see why, as a whole, Protestants are uneducated and overly critical about the Catholic faith, the very religion that Protestantism is derived.
Mueller, Arnold C. "Religion in the Public Schools." In Church and State Under God, ed. Albert G. Huegli. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2004.
Humans are rational beings that use their intellect to try an achieve some sort of sense of the world, in other words truth. Truth is something that can not be denied as false. Since all humans are not part of the same culture, humanity as a whole does not share the exact notion of what is considered to be true. Humanity tries to achieve or know the truth through various outlets or practices. These different belief systems are understood to have been formed from their specific culture. Obviously, humanity has many different cultures and with that comes many different forms of truth seeking. There is one religion that claims to have the fullness of truth. That religion is the faith of Catholicism which means the Universal Church. Through Jesus Christ the founder and messianic figure of Catholicism, his Bride, the Church claims to unite humanity under the fullness of truth through the succession of Peter and tradition.
Aaron Gilfoyle didn’t know it yet, but he would be walking into the one and only classroom out of his short-lived high school career where he wasn’t being taught by a devout catholic. It was one of the only issues of being hired by Our Lady of Justice, as they felt that I was lacking on the spiritual side. Father Gerald, a robust individual, stated frankly, “Here at Our Lady of Justice, we pride ourselves on our all-catholic teaching staff, and would like to maintain that tradition of dedication.” Unfortunately for the Round Father, I like to think of myself as more of a “to each their own” spiritual leader, but my job depended on the fact that I was brought up in a catholic home and was educated in the catholic system. I needed a job, and perhaps God saw that the Catholics at this school needed to take their heads o...
Warnick, B. R. (2012). Student rights to religious expression and the special characteristics of schools. Educational Theory, 62(1), 59-74. doi:10.1111/j.1741-5446.2011.00435.x
* Anderson, Ronald D. “Religion and Spirituality in the Public School Curriculum.” New York. Peter Lang Publishing. 2004.
The parents have the primary responsibility for the upbringing their children, including education. Consequently, parents need to be knowledgeable about the rules and practices school, including all matters relating to the religion and religious freedom in public education. In each community, parents should work with school officials to achieve not only what is constitutional, but also what is right for all citizens (Essex, 2012).The principles of freedom of religious are provided in the First Amendment where the civic structure that allows discussing differences, understand the relationship between parents and school policies and forge serve the common good in public education (Lecture 2, 2014). The following issues or inquiries are general information about the speech and religious practice in schools. These issues are based on the principles liberty of religious framed by the First Amendment to the Constitution, currently interpreted by the courts and according to accept a wide range of religious and educational organizations(Essex, 2012). Some of the current issues that are present in the public schools about religion are: Finding a common ground of freedom, Religious Liberty and Public Schools, The Student Religious Expression, Student Religious Attire or Distribution of Literature, Student Prayer, School Services and in graduation services, and one that cause more attention with the new cuts in budget and higher standards requirements is the Religious Holidays, Attendance, and Exemptions.
Discrimination Against Catholics Source Based Sources B and C are useful for finding out the extent of discrimination against Catholics. From them we can get information about the types of discrimination Catholics faced. In source B we can see that Catholics faced discrimination in football, ‘ the second or third question is, what school did you go to son? And if its saint something, then all of a sudden the boy isn’t good enough’. This makes the source useful because we can see that discrimination happened in football.
Since teaching religion in a public schools has been banned, parents may opt for a private school with a religious component. Catholic, Jewish, and Christian schools can embrace faith-based education in their curriculum, and other activities. “Academic religion promotes “personal character”, and “love of learning” (William 86). Many private schools go beyond academics, and require daily attendance at a chapel, synagogue, or temple. Students of non-religious families also attend religious schools. For example, the number of non-Catholic students attending Catholic schools. Freedom of school choice is wider than it ever was. A factor that plays a large role in parents deciding whether to send their children to public, or private school is whether, or not they want religious, and or moral instruction to play a part of their children’s academic environment. Religion in education is such a controversial topic by itself that it might take a long discussion to develop the topic. There are many strong arguments for this matter. “The government takes an appropriate approach to religion in education” (Attack on Public schools). The government allows for freedom of expression in schools yet, they are preventing the teachers from influencing the students with their religious beliefs. This topic really demonstrates the fact that everyone is different, which causes people to
Is it possible to be a Muslim without believing the validity of the prophecies of Mohammed? Is it possible to be a Christian without believing in the resurrection of Jesus? My definition of religion transformed greatly during my studies the past few months. Even as a religion major at St. Olaf College I thought of religion very narrowly, as a construct of metaphysical beliefs. But I've come to realize that religion runs far deeper than my Lutheran mind previously conceived.
University of Michigan. “Religion in Schools: A look at how religious practices influence education.” .
Mr. Houston fellow students, “What were the reasons for the decline of Catholicism in America since 1945”, this has been the topic of my research for the previous three terms. The previous analogy, although being far fetched, if you put it into perspective outlines my opinion on the development of Catholicism since 1945 to the present day. That initially we followed the Catholic Church unquestionably and devoutly, mass on Sundays, fish on Fridays (etc). But as society modernized and became increasingly secular in education, the media and politics, people began to question some of the church teachings and the church authorities. Though the church, lead by conservatives initially would not change. As Catholics began to move away, the church realizing the situation reassessed their position at Vatican 2, which resulted in the modernized Catholic Church. Consequently from here catholic membership began to increase, however the nature of Catholicism changed.