From the WSJ Opinion Archives
THINKING IT OVER
A Civic Catechism
American schoolchildren need instruction in our political faith.
(Editor's note: This column originally appeared in The Wall Street Journal, May 21, 1945.)
A good many of us, probably, in our childhood days went through the "catechism" process of religious education. The essence of the catechism method is the impression upon the memory of a child a series of statements in the form of a question and answer, and doing it in such a way that the words in which they are expressed will remain indelibly therein fixed.
No one expects the child to apprehend the full meaning expressed in these statements. The theory is that as his mind grows in power and experience this meaning will unfold in greater and greater understanding of the words that remain etched upon his brain--which is why catechists were so insistent upon absolute verbal accuracy in the child's "answers." Which being the case, it is easy to see that construction of a catechism for educating a child in anything of a religious or philosophic nature is a most difficult and responsible task--most of all when it is intended as a profession of faith in something.
For many years the present writer has dallied with an idea far beyond his own competence to bring to birth, yet, as it seems to him, crying to be born--a catechism of America's "political" faith, that is the concept of civil government. The remarkable fact is that alone among nations we began our existence with a formal "profession of faith" in quite definite terms which we proclaimed as "self-evidently" true. That "profession" is contained in the Declaration of Independence, and in form and content is a virtually perfect example of the type, as plain a credo (in its way) as the Apostles or the Nicene creed that is repeated in our churches. Whether one believes it or not, the fact is indisputable. It includes an entire "philosophy" of civil government, of "politics."
As such it is perfect material for catechetical treatment. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end, all logically related and tightly linked in sequence; each part being a conclusion of the part preceding.
Why should there not be in our educational curriculum for American children a catechism of our American "political" faith?
It seems to this writer that there was always a need for this from the day the Founders made the profession but never was the need so great as now. It is true that the great majority of us suppose that we hold the "American faith" but this writer suspects that if the Declaration's preamble were "catechized" a good many in that majority would be much surprised to find out to what that "American faith" committed them. We have, of course, in this country a group of opinion which would flatly reject its initial postulates, has indeed already done so, as anyone familiar with "Instrumentalist" literature well knows. But a catechism such as suggested would at least have the effect of inviting us generally to "test our positions" against its statements, just as does the child's catechism of religion even in the late evening of life for a believer.
These are interesting days for book publishing and the fashion is growing among publishers of offering fairly handsome sums of money for a book on some particular subject to be competed for by any and all writers who choose to enter. Suppose that some publishing house were to select a small group of well-known scholars in the field of education, hand them copies of say the "penny catechism" and request them to digest the preamble of the Declaration into similar form. Would it not have ninety chances in a hundred of being a "best-seller" here and abroad in half a dozen or more tongues?
It would assuredly deserve it. For if we in this country are to take a part in world reconstruction, and "democracy" is to be the governmental form, it is essential that we should know our own "Democratic" faith and that other nations should know what it is--and in addition how much we ourselves believe in it. The catechism suggested would go far to demonstrate both.
Mr. Woodlock, born in Ireland in 1866, was editor of The Wall Street Journal, 1902-05, and "Thinking It Over" columnist from 1930 until his death in 1945. Robert Bartley is on vacation.
