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THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY of AMERICA Principles for a Creation

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THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY of AMERICA Principles for a Creation THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA Principles for a Creation-based Curriculum with Particular Reference to the Writings of Dermot Lane A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Theology and Religious Studies Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Philosophy © All Rights Reserved By Matthew J. Hoven Washington, D.C. 2011 Principles for a Creation-based Curriculum with Particular Reference to the Writings of Dermot Lane Matthew J. Hoven, Ph.D. Director: Berard L. Marthaler, S.T.D., Ph.D. Scientific findings, theories and hypotheses about the origins, design and future of the universe often seem to challenge belief in a Creator. Questions about the existence of a Divine Maker compel religious educators in Catholic high schools to reconsider the presentation of creation. Accepting the importance of scientific literacy for adolescents, educators teaching about creation require sound curriculum based on foundational knowledge about the physical universe and theological understanding that engages the dialogue between science and religion. Anchored by the teachings of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, this thesis employs the writings of theologian and educator Dermot Lane as a key point of reference for incorporating insights from cosmology, anthropology and ecology into a response to creation-related issues. Lane, the current President of Mater Dei Institute of Education in Dublin, Ireland, offers an interdisciplinary approach based upon a careful balancing of modern scientific understandings, contemporary religious beliefs, and traditional Christian doctrines. A sampling of English-language high school religious education textbooks printed by prominent Catholic publishing houses in the U.S.A. and Canada reveals that current print resources generally limit the opportunity for a thorough investigation of creation-oriented questions. Neglected areas of study necessitate an educational response. Selected principle statements form a curricular framework that highlights (1) the importance of knowledge about the physical world for Christian belief and (2) the connection between questions of both the origins and the end of human life and the universe. Going beyond conventional resources, this creation-based curriculum promotes investigation of fundamental questions for developing twenty-first century competencies rather than focusing on Christian beliefs alone. Delving into concepts such as gender, human death, the cosmic Christ and the Eucharist, the framework outlines the basis and rationale for inquiry through critical thinking and student reflection. This interdisciplinary approach for religious education can improve high school curriculum in a constructive, compelling manner. It challenges students to critique common misconceptions about Christian belief in creation, with the intention of inspiring wonder, curiosity, faith, deeper understanding, and openness to religious ways of experiencing reality. This dissertation by Matthew J. Hoven fulfills the dissertation requirement for the doctoral degree in religious education/catechetics approved by Berard L. Marthaler, S.T.D., Ph.D., as Director, and by Kevin W. Irwin, S.T.D., and Lucinda A. Nolan, Ph.D. as Readers. __________________________________________ Berard L. Marthaler, S.T.D., Ph.D., Director __________________________________________ Kevin W. Irwin, S.T.D., Reader __________________________________________ Lucinda A. Nolan, Ph.D., Reader ii CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS v INTRODUCTION 1 PART ONE. BASIS FOR A CREATION-BASED CURRICULUM 12 Chapter 1. Catechism of the Catholic Church 13 Chapter 2. Scientific Findings as Apparent Threats to Christian Belief 35 Chapter 3. ―Whither The World?‖ Lane as a Particular Reference for this Challenge 56 PART TWO. SELECT PRINCIPLES FOR A CREATION-BASED CURRICULUM 79 Chapter 4. Developing a Creation-Based Secondary School Curriculum 80 Chapter 5. Science and Religion 99 Chapter 6. God‘s Creative Action 114 Chapter 7. Unity of All Things 131 Chapter 8. Anthropic Principle 151 Chapter 9. Mutuality of Male and Female 172 Chapter 10. Death: Construction to Reconstruction 193 Chapter 11. Cosmic Christ 215 Chapter 12. New Creation 236 EPILOGUE 258 iii APPENDIX 1 264 APPENDIX 2 268 BIBLIOGRAPHY 269 iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To my former students in Catholic schools, whose desire for finding answers to life‘s great questions directed my own search; To the faculty and students at St. Joseph‘s College, who, by their own research and learning, reminded me why I chose this field of study; To Ms. Maureen Parker and Fr. Don McLeod, whose energy and friendship helped carry the thesis through challenging moments; To Fr. Berard Marthaler, whose passion for and attentiveness to the topic encouraged and guided this project to completion; To my parents (and parents-in-law) whose constant support is a sign of their unending love for family and the Church; To Murray, we spoke at length about the mystery of the universe and now you live in the glory of the new creation. We miss you; To Hannah and Felicity, we shared many mornings and afternoons during your infancies working on the dissertation. In fact, you don‘t understand family life apart from it. Here‘s to future Saturdays spent together without the laptop; To Crystal, your faithfulness to this project and belief in me is an inspiration. Our journey to the District was about us. We did it! v INTRODUCTION The Catechism of the Catholic Church establishes the ―major importance‖ of educating Christians about concerns related to the origin and end of all things.1 Perennial questions—like ―Where do we come from?‖ ―Where are we going?‖ ―What is our origin?‖ ―What is our end?‖—are inseparable and call for an explicit response from the Christian faith. Described as ―catechesis on creation,‖ this teaching addresses the concerns at ―the very foundations of human and Christian life‖ and is ―decisive for the meaning and orientation of our life and actions‖ (n. 282). Thus, the ways in which human beings perceive the beginning and final destiny of their lives, along with the cosmos itself, have far reaching consequences and require suitable emphasis in catechesis. Referring to this paragraph from the Catechism, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn attests this approach: ―Since the time of the early Church, catechesis about creation has always been the foundation of all other catecheses.‖2 Nine years prior to the Catechism‘s promulgation, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger criticized the seeming lack of concern for the physical world in catechesis. He 1The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. (hereafter referred to in footnotes as ―CCC‖ and throughout the text as ―Catechism‖ or ―CCC‖) (New York: Doubleday, 1994), n. 282. 2Christoph von Schönborn and Hubert Philipp Weber, Chance or Purpose? Creation, Evolution and a Rational Faith (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2007), 17. 1 2 disapprovingly remarked that religious instruction is usually limited to the social sciences, while ―the material world is relegated to the departments of physics or engineering.‖3 He argued against what he perceived as a ―fatal tendency‖ to overlook the significance of physical reality for the Christian faith. He wrote, ―Yet only if being itself, including matter, comes from God‘s hands and remains in God‘s hands can God really be our savior and grant us life–real life.‖4 Because of this implication for Christian belief, he calls for a ―decisive renewal of faith in creation‖ because it acts as ―the prerequisite . for the credibility and depth of Christology and eschatology.‖5 Reflecting the insight from the Catechism, Ratzinger, like Schönborn, substantiates the value of a catechesis about creation, placing it at the foundation of teachings about salvation and the end of all things. Concern for the physical reality and its importance for religious belief signify recognition of the significance of modern scientific findings and their place in contemporary catechesis—especially that which deals with the origins and the end of life and the universe itself.6 3This is found in an address on the state of catechesis given in the cathedrals of Lyon and Paris. See Joseph Ratzinger, ―Handing on the Faith and the Sources of the Faith,‖ in Handing on the Faith in an Age of Disbelief, trans. M. J. Miller (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006), 36. He makes a similar argument in a series of Lenten homilies given in 1981. See Joseph Ratzinger, In the Beginning--: A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1995), 7. 4Ratzinger, ―Handing on the Faith and the Sources of the Faith,‖ 36. 5Ratzinger, ―Handing on the Faith and the Sources of the Faith,‖ 37. 6See also Zachary Hayes, A Window to the Divine: Creation Theology (Winona, MN: Saint Mary‘s Press, 2009), 1. 3 While people contemplate timeless questions about the beginning and destiny of their lives and the universe, the context for such questions is complicated by discoveries in contemporary science. Cosmological models and evolutionary theories present the origins of the physical universe in a manner that appears foreign to biblical revelation. Particularly with evolution, findings appear to suggest that living beings have developed in rather random ways over millions of years. While the Bible and Christian teaching underscore the value of human life on earth, discussions in astrobiology and biochemistry seem to undermine the belief that humans are made in God‘s image by highlighting the
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