Catholic Education In The United States

Words: 1956
Pages: 8

Introduction The history of Catholic education in the United States predates the actual formation of this country. Despite strong anti-Catholic sentiment throughout Colonial America, historical evidence suggests that as early as 1640, wealthy Catholic families in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, supported the ministry of a Jesuit priest to educate their children, and in 1745, a second Catholic school was opened in Cecil County, Maryland. (Walch, 2003) However, it was not until the end of the American Revolution that Church officials in the United States exerted influence over the development of Catholic schools. (Kealey & Kealey, 2003) By 1790, John Carroll, the first bishop of the United States, campaigned vigorously for the establishment of …show more content…
(Gale, 2006) In the ensuing years, the Catholic Church in the United States enjoyed unprecedented growth in the number of parishes, along with a steady rise in the number of parochial schools. (Kealey & Kealey, 2003) In order to gain some control over the education of Catholic children, the 1884 Plenary Council required Catholic parents to enroll their children in Catholic schools. (Walch, 2003) With an almost “endless supply of priests, brothers, and nuns to staff the schools…the group of 200 American Catholic schools that existed in 1860 grew to more than 1,300 in the 1870s. By the turn of the 20th century, there were almost 5,000 Catholic schools in the United States.” …show more content…
Decline in religious vocations and the increase in tuition and fees, middle-class flight from urban areas and quality suburban public schools, decline in support from Churches and the relationship that has to the decline in attendance at Mass and loss of Catholic identity, the need for new facilities in urban Catholic schools, and distrust as result of clergy scandal are among the primary causes for the enrollment decline. (DeFiore & Convey, 2009) Further analysis of each of these causes suggests that there is no one cause, but the combination of all causes has led to the decline in Catholic school