The Failure of Catholic Academia

In the preface to the first edition of the book The Devil’s Delusion: Atheism and its Scientific Pretensions, after addressing the fact that he’s a secular Jew whose “religious education did not take,” who “barely remembers a word of Hebrew” and “cannot pray,” and after addressing the content of the book as a “defense of religious thought and sentiment,” with biblical verses being the “least of it,” David Berlinski, a mathematician and philosopher, makes the following striking statement: “A defense is needed because none has been forthcoming. The discussion has been ceded to men who regard religious belief with frivolous contempt.” This statement summarizes the sad state of our current reality. Every person, in every role in society, has a responsibility toward serving the Truth. This is most especially true for academia and academics of faith. However, in reality, Catholic academia and academics have, overall, failed miserably at upholding the dignity and integrity of the academic vocation, of being the mind and source of true education of society, from inside and outside of the Church. 

The Failure of Catholic Academia