Beyond Obedience and Abandonment: Toward a Theory of Dissent in Catholic Education

Catholic schools have achieved academic, social, and spiritual successes, but have also struggled with shifting twenty-first century social values. Confronted with issues such as the proper treatment of non-heterosexual students, disagreements over the ordination of women, and assertions that schools are not properly teaching doctrine, Catholic schools tend to listen to concerns and then resume established institutional programs. In Beyond Obedience and Abandonment, Graham McDonough proposes that Catholic schools embrace dissent as a powerful opportunity for rediscovery in the Church. Building a case for productive dissent, McDonough provides a nuanced analysis of contemporary Catholic education. He considers the ways in which the established body of theology, history, and curriculum theory supports faithful disagreement within the tradition of religious schooling and outlines new perspectives for overcoming doctrinal frustrations and administrative obstacles. Beyond Obedience and Abandonment is a well-reasoned and engaging work that illustrates the limitations of current practices and proposes new designs that will enable greater dissent and fuller participation in Catholic education.