The Catechism Yesterday and Today

The publication of the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" has generated new interest in catechisms. This book presents it as the latest version in a genre of works that, over time, have been made to sreve the cause of religious instruction, Church reform, safeguarding orthodoxy, inculturation, apologetics and, even, political agendas. In tracing the evolution of the catechism genre, this book presents a survey of Catholic history that recalls individuals and incidents - some little-known, some forgotten - that shaped the Church's catechetical ministry. It is a study of faith and culture addressed to the general reader as well as to historians, religious educators and theologians. The author begins with a look at the development of this tool for lay instruction and its evolution from the time of the Council of Trent through the Counter-Reformation. It then covers the effects of world mission on catechism development, provides a special look at the early-English and Irish catechisms, and gives an exploration of the American Baltimore catechism.
The work concludes with a look at the Dutch catechism that forged the way for the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" before finishing with a discussion of that catechism as it now appears in English.