“It’s almost a crisis of faith,” according to Dr. Mark Gray, a senior
research associate at the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA)
at Georgetown University. “It” is
a massive migration of people out of the Catholic Church at an early age, mostly
between the ages of ten and seventeen.
Most attribute their loss of faith vaguely to the alleged conflict
between faith and reason.
 |
| Aristotle: "All things aim at the good." |
At least, that’s
the story according to an article republished December 17, 2016 on the Catholic
News Agency website. The article by Matt
Hadro, with the less-than-snappy title, “Why
Catholics are Leaving the Faith by Age 10 — And What Parents Can Do About It,”
was originally published September 5, 2016.
Why is this a
matter of concern to the Just Third Way?
After all, the JTW movement has no official — or unofficial — religious
affiliation. The Core Values and the
Code of Ethics of the Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ) acknowledge
God and the natural law, which can be known “by the force and light of human
reason alone,” but that’s as far as it toes.
Anything else gets into the realm of faith, which is none of CESJ’s
business . . . as long as what is held by faith does not contradict what is
proved by reason.
The fact is,
organized religion is an important institution in society. It is the primary source for what is taught
as “virtue” — which signifies “human-ness.”
If organized religion fails in this, then the vacuum will be filled by
parents (fine if they have a solid moral foundation . . . otherwise . . .), or
— more often — the State . . . and the State doesn’t care what’s right or
wrong, only what benefits those who control the State.
Of course, if
capital ownership — and thus political power — is widespread, this is not much
of a problem. If, however, ownership is
concentrated in a private sector élite
(capitalism) or a State bureaucracy (socialism), serious problems are going to
crop up. . . .
. . . like people
leaving the practice of their faith at an early age. . . .
So, what does the
author think will keep Catholics (and others) from leaving their religion, and
slipping into a vague “scientism”? Or,
at least, what does the authority the author cites (actually the authority the
authority cites . . . it gets complicated), Christian Smith, a professor of sociology at the University
of Notre Dame, give as the ways to increase “retention”? There are three:
·
A
weekly activity that focuses on matters of faith, such as catechesis, Bible/Quran/Torah
study, or youth group;
·
Non-parental
adults with whom they can talk about the faith; and
·
They
have deep spiritual experiences.
Now, all of these are
doubtless good things, regardless of your religion, although we’re not exactly
sure how to ensure that people have deep spiritual experiences or even what
they are, specifically. They reinforce
what is said (and, hopefully, done) in the home, church/mosque/synagogue, and
school.
The problem is that such
things, meritorious as they are, do not address the real problem. It’s not a crisis of faith that’s bringing
things down, it’s a crisis of reason.
How’s that?
 |
| Aquinas: No conflict between faith and reason. |
Yes, the article clearly
states that people have to approach such things by acknowledging that both
science and religion are true. Faith and
reason are both necessary.
It’s not made clear, however,
that faith is necessarily established on a foundation of reason. It’s not that the truths of science and the
truths of religion are the same truths — but they are both as true, and true in
the same way, as everything else that is true.
That is the first principle of reason, and it applies equally to science
and to religion.
Many people today, however,
assume that faith applies to religion, and reason applies to science, and don’t
go mixing the two. Nevertheless, the
scientismist (to coin a term for someone who accepts “science” on faith
thinking it’s reason) and the fideist (someone who accepts the truths of
religion on faith alone with no reference to reason) are both wrong, and —
although they seem to be saying opposite things — are wrong in the same way
about the same thing.
As Pope Pius IX
tried to make clear in 1846 in Qui
Pluribus, his first encyclical, faith and reason go together. Faith and reason are not in opposition, but
complementary. Reason gives us true and
certain knowledge about the things of this world. Faith completes and fulfills reason by giving
us true and certain knowledge about the things of the next world.
#30#
