Theology and Education

Dr. Brown presents the opposing case in reply to President Rober M. Hutchins' thesis that since theology cannot furnish a unifying principle for modern education, metaphysics should be employed for this purpose. Both parties to the debate agree on the need, and agree that the only question here is which of these two disciplines should supply it. Both refer to conditions in the Middle Ages as in some sense an ideal and a model. This review points out that in so far as there was unity of belief in the Middle Ages it rested on some direct compulsion with more of compulsive conditioning and still more general ignorance, which also was partly imposed, but was chiefly due to the limitations of the culture as a whole. It is argued that history and common sense unite in proving that "theology" must claim the right to control men's thinking coercively, and must do so as far as it can find effective means. The first step in unifying anything else by means of theology or metaphysics must be to unify the doctrinal field in question itself. From this point of view the difference between the two fields disappears; unity means the imposition of some particular theology by force. The ideal of social thought and education unified in terms of philosophical principles universally accepted is admittely appealing, intellectually and aesthetically. But the history of Christendom since the Middle Ages seems to prove two things: (1) that it is impossible to have agreement on theology (or metaphysics) without coercion, and probably impossible with it; (2) that is unnecessary to have such agreement in order to have social co-operation both more humane and far more effective than any ever seen under any system or social order based on official control of thinking. This is true in spite of the fact that freedom seems to involve much difference of opinion about ultimate questions, which is in a sense "disorderly." In conclusion, it is suggested that the only means to intellectual unity which is either possible or morally defensible in the discovery and dispassionate promulgation of "truth," the "right" answers to the questions at issue

Coercion (linguistics) · Epistemology · Ideal (ethics) · Ignorance · Metaphysics · Middle Ages · Theology · Philosophy · Religious Education and Schools

• A Selected Bibliography on Religion and Public Education

  Ronald B Flowers•Journal of Church and State•1972

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• Hall's genetic psychology and religious conversion

  Open Access•Robert Beck, Robert N Beck•Pastoral Psychology•1965

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