Catholic Anthropology

The essential activity of Catholic colleges and universities at the undergraduate level is teaching material that is enlightened, contrasted, or highlighted by Catholic perspectives. Until about forty years ago this task was carried out predominantly by priests, sisters, and brothers. Bound to the Catholic Church in a special way, these people are no longer represented in significant numbers at Catholic institutions of higher education, and laypeople are now responsible for teaching in the Catholic tradition. The challenge is that priests, nuns, and brothers received extensive training in how the Catholic faith is related to the specific academic discipline they taught. Laypeople need “Catholic resources” if, following in the footsteps of the sisters, brothers, and priests, they wish to share the Catholic intellectual tradition with their students. At a Catholic institution a layperson in a particular academic discipline is expected to address religious themes that amplify or nuance the normal material presented in the secular discipline. Theology and philosophy are central to Catholic institutions of higher education. But laypeople who are inclined to include religious themes in their usual undergraduate classes play a vital role in strengthening the Catholic mission, identity, and character of a Catholic institution. This book provides resources for faculty members at Catholic institutions who want to incorporate Christian religious themes in the academic disciplines in which they are specialists.