medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Good morning, Cate!
You asked:
> A number of members of this list are clearly practising Catholics - how
> difficult is it to achieve objectivity when teaching the development and
> history of Catholicism?
You were bound to "out" me, sooner or later, I suppose.
Actually, I'm not a practicing Roman Catholic. I'm
Lutheran.
That said, in regard to your question, are you really sure
you want to try? In the situation of which I wrote earlier,
I found it much easier simply to tell the truth. In similar
situations since, I've found that a good rule to follow.
I've no idea what your religious proclivities are, and they
are your own business to do with as you please. However,
mine -- along with other long held beliefs (e.g. We are not
all merely "brains in a vat"; my senses give me at least
some apperception of what in the world is going on; etc.) --
colour the way I teach. Where they entered into the
subject under debate, e.g. abortion on demand, I stated
at the beginning of the discussion what my conviction was
while asking my students to do the same. They did,
generally with temperence, knowledge, and gusto.
When you begin a course and explain to the students what
they can expect from you and what you expect from them,
can you be comfortable telling them your feelings and
beliefs at the outset while reassuring them that you wish to
and will try to treat all of them fairly? Yes, you will quickly
discover some who strongly disagree with you. (For ANY given
position, there is at least one person who disagrees with it. [He
will probably attend the class where that position is taught.])
So what historical data can the dissenter gather to support
his position? Can you assist him in his search? The smart
money says you in fact can. Yet, in the process, he may
come to see that hard facts resist his attempts at manipulation
and that past events are subject to a variety of understandings,
some more plausable than others.
For example, did the stripping of the altars produce any positive
effects? Arguably, yes. Was it entirely successful? Clearly, on
the basis of the statement of goals by the strippers and subsequent
history, no. (In general, Lutherans didn't play the stripping game.
Comparison here might be interesting [and unwieldy]).
I've blathered on here at great length, subjugating a massive
number of innocent electrons in the process. I laud you for
taking on the task of teaching this subject to mature students.
In writing a paper on it, you display far more guts than I have.
Good luck on your presentation.
Regards to all,
Frank
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