It's interesting to be in this situation, since I studied the history of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation at a Mormon school. I think that Mormons feel comfortable talking about Protestantism and Catholicism (and the theological debate between the two religions) since the LDS faith didn't exist in the 16th and 17th centuries. In that way, I think Mormons feel like they can be more objective in their discussion.
My little quandary has made me wonder: how to Catholics feel about the Reformation? And how do they feel about their historical past in general? My guess is that Catholics don't get as defensive about their history as Mormons. For example, I think most Mormons feel defensive/uneasy when the subject of polygamy is mentioned, but I get the sense that Catholics don't take things as personally. If that is the case, maybe Catholics don't get worked-up because their history is so longstanding and complex - they've had many centuries to get used to their past.
Anyhow, I'm just glad that I don't have to teach about the Crusades this quarter. That seems like it would be a much stickier subject to teach than Martin Luther.
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I wish you lots of luck in your lessons.
Catholics are an interesting group.
My boss at my old temp job here in DC was a very strict Catholic. I kind of was under the impression that most Catholics weren't real strict and maybe just went to Christmas and Easter Mass. Wow, was I proven wrong. I guess there are people in that religion that are straight as an arrow (besides nuns of course). I think you'll do great though. You are diplomatic and respectful, so I don't imagine you'll have any problems with it.
And I know this is off topic, but I think it is interesting that you mentioned Martin Luther. I was just thinking about him this afternoon!
I was thinking about the horrible, angry rants he wrote about Jews and how their houses, their synagogues, and the people themselves should be burned and destroyed, and how his angry words were fuel for the fire for many people involved in the Holocaust.
It wasn't until the 60's (I think -- but I could be way off) that the Protestant church finally rejected his angry rants.
Anyway, I know that's off topic big time ... sorry :)
i actually had a bit of a difficult time teaching about the middle ages/reformation/counter reformation at byu. the combination of our protestant cultural heritage and a certain former apostle's appellation of the catholic church as the whore of babylon made a majority of the students rather disdainful and accusatory towards the catholic church. interestingly, though, when i taught the luther/erasmus debate, the majority assumed that they were on luther's side, but to their surprise ended up agreeing more with erasmus.
anyway, i get the sense here at n.d. that as long as you don't blatantly hate on the church or say something really explicit or talk too much about the oppression of women, they don't get worked up (and i think that n.d. is more conservative than your school).
good luck and let us know how it goes!
I am certain you'll do a good job, Monica. We are thrilled about teaching opportunity. You have our vote of confidence.
Thanks for your comments, everyone.
e, I had no idea about Martin Luther and Jews (and especially that connection with the Holocaust). Wow. That's interesting (and terribly sad).
Zillah, thanks for your comment. I actually hoped you would say something about N.D. and your experience there. I'll make sure I don't say anything along the lines of what you mentioned (I obviously wouldn't say those things anyway!).
I also thought you had an interesting comment about BYU and Protestantism. I can see what you mean about Mormons being more accusatory toward the Catholic church. I did come into a couple of instances like that at BYU, not from the
professors per se, but comments that the students made regarding the sale of indulgences, etc. It's nice to know that I probably won't encounter that problem in my class.
I'll let you know how it goes tonight.
So, the class went really well. I feel like there wasn't really anything to worry about. It was easy to preface things with "Luther believed that...", "Luther felt...", and "The Catholic Church wanted to..."
So, it was fine. I also found out that there is only one Catholic in my class, which is a little surprising (although I figured that not everyone was Catholic).
Good, I'm glad the class went well :)
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