Theme 2: Searching for Truth Grounded in Both Faith and Reason

With the growth of knowledge comes a multiplicity of perspectives on how to interpret human interactions, the meaning of our economic and political systems and the very meaning of life. We are increasingly aware of the multitude of religious traditions and cultural perspectives that influence our global interactions. In our contemporary world we find an enormous growth of ideas but little agreement about a widely shared basis for inquiry into truth and whether there are important ideas that all students should learn.

At the University of Dayton, the search for truth is based on the belief that truth is ultimately one and can be more fully known through both faith and reason. If what is held through faith or what is held through reason appears to be in conflict, then something must give way to reconsideration: one of the things held, or both, or perhaps the larger framework within which the apparent contradiction arose. Inquiry then must be carried out both with academic freedom and with openness to the transcendent dimension of life. We highly value the free and responsible intellectual inquiry into and the sharing of truth. Out of our Catholic intellectual tradition, we are convinced that human questioning that humbly seeks the truth leads ultimately to the exploration of the transcendent and that openness to the transcendent enriches rational inquiry. Intellectual inquiry must be based on sound methods that examine critically the coherence of and the warrants for reasoned arguments, but even the best of arguments cannot capture all that can and ought to be part of our search for truth. "Horizons are opened, relationships made possible and understandings are embraced when individuals and communities pursue inquiry with both faith and reason."¹

The dialogue of faith and reason can be mutually enriching and purifying. In the words of Pope Benedict XVI, "Reason always stands in need of being purified by faith. … For its part, religion always needs to be purified by reason in order to show its authentically human face. Any breach in this dialogue comes only at an enormous price to human development."²

As in all outstanding Catholic universities, the Catholic intellectual tradition³ is a dynamic presence shaping the intellectual inquiry of the University of Dayton faculty, staff and students. The University of Dayton endeavors to provide multiple forums, where through free inquiry and open conversation the various elements of the Catholic intellectual tradition can connect to all forms of human knowledge in the arts and sciences, the professions and in the experiences students and faculty have in applying knowledge to the critical problems of the human community.

The Catholic intellectual tradition engages the resources of the Catholic faith with the great human questions and situations as they unfold across centuries and civilizations. This tradition of rational inquiry was initiated as the early Christians began to reflect upon and engage the Gospels, their experience of Jesus, in a number of new situations. Throughout their history, Christians have wrestled with and drawn upon the best of human knowledge to defend, explain, understand and better learn to practice their faith.

This tradition has evolved and developed through conversations with the world of ideas and philosophies, the example of the saints and the contribution of great artists. The tradition also has developed as persons explored its meaning for their personal lives and as the Catholic community, in dialogue with others, explored its insights to address social questions such as the status of the worker in modern capitalism, the global economy, war and peace, etc. In short, the Catholic intellectual tradition is a 20-centuries-old conversation between the church and the world, a dialogue between the Christian community of believers and the cultures in which it finds itself.

The Catholic intellectual tradition can continue to provide conceptual resources for greater integration of learning and scholarship in our undergraduate programs, our graduate programs and our programs of scholarship and research. Most contemporary universities mobilize interdisciplinary scholarship to address the critical issues confronting our world, such as globalization, sustainability, economic inequality, poverty, etc. In addition, as a Catholic university, our campus community can also bring the religious and moral resources of the Catholic intellectual tradition to the exploration of critical issue.⁴

An important task for the University is the critical and reciprocal dialogue between faith and cultures: a dialogue in which faith can both learn from and critique cultures, and cultures can learn from and critique faith. A people's culture is embodied in its beliefs, values and practices. Expressions of culture include not only art, literature, philosophy, politics, social norms and technology, but also past and present events and experiences that can be studied with the methods of history and the human sciences. Historically and globally, the overwhelming majority of human cultures have displayed awareness of and even fascination with the transcendent. The Catholic intellectual tradition strives to be open to truth, wherever it may be found. Interest in, knowledge of and engagement with the cultural expressions of a variety of peoples is integral to the search for truth. The contemporary world faces few challenges whose solution would not require a deep understanding of their cultural dimensions.

The dialogues of faith and cultures are present in many settings with different agendas. In interreligious dialogues, world religions enter into conversation to find ways they can act together to promote concern for justice, peace and the integrity of creation. Ecumenical dialogues bring members of Christian churches together to search for common ground in beliefs and action. A Catholic university should also be a place of dialogue where Catholic believers from different parts of the world come together to explore how faith has grown in different cultural contexts. All of these dialogues, marked by respect and trust, allow persons and communities of different faith traditions to understand other religious perspectives, deepen their appreciation of their own faith tradition, and search together with others for common human values. We hold people of other religious traditions in high esteem, especially those we work with and, as a community, we can be models for the larger society. This approach to conversation across differences moves beyond mere tolerance to genuine dialogue and consensus-building.

To promote the intellectual exchange proper to a Catholic university requires a diversity of scholarly voices, including Catholic scholars, scholars from other religious traditions, and scholars with no religious tradition. The University relies on the presence and work of people from other religious traditions — indeed, all people of good will — committed to the mission of the University, in discovering what is true, cherishing what is good and appreciating what is beautiful. The Catholic mission and identity of the University depends upon, and is nurtured by, the continuing presence of an influential number of Catholic intellectuals, i.e., scholars and teachers of the highest quality who practice the Catholic faith. What the University asks of all its scholars and students, however, is not a particular religious commitment but respect for its Catholic and Marianist mission and identity and a willingness to enter into conversation that contributes to the realization of that mission and identity in its curriculum and in the culture of the campus community.

The University carries out its mission in communion with the church, the believing community in and through which Christian revelation is received, lived and handed on. Mutual trust and close and consistent communication mark the relations between the University and the church. Our University is a forum where scholars and members of the church community can come together to explore and reflect mutually upon the challenges that the church must address in its evangelizing mission. While the University has no direct dependence on church governance or church support, the University freely chooses to constitute itself as a Catholic university and is committed to working within the Catholic tradition. The University recognizes the rights of the Church's Magisterium to question, criticize and judge the integrity of the implementation of this commitment. Whenever such issues arise, they are addressed in a spirit of dialogue and mutual trust between the University and the church hierarchy.

Formation in faith is a central element in the Marianist tradition of education. The Marianist tradition emphasizes not only the important intellectual dimensions of faith — "faith seeking understanding" — but faith as a disposition of the heart, an openness to the transcendent and the ability to experience faith as both a gift from God and as a relationship with God. Faith grows not only through rigorous exploration and reflection but also in the religious practices of the faith community — in both common worship and in the solitude of prayer and reflection.

Building on his experience in the time of the French Revolution and radical social change, Chaminade saw that formation in faith has both a personal dimension (a personal relationship with God) and a public dimension (a call to bring God's reign of justice, peace and reconciliation into society). Formation in faith provides conceptual and moral resources and a deep motivation to link learning and scholarship to leadership and service.

¹ Characteristics of Marianist Education, 24.

² Caritas in Veritate, 54.

³ A working summary of campus conversations on the Catholic intellectual tradition can be found in the document The Catholic Intellectual Tradition and the Mission of the University: A Continuing Conversation.

⁴ An excellent example of this type of scholarship on our campus is contained in Engineering Education and Practice: Embracing a Catholic Vision, editors Kevin Hallinan and James Heft (University of Notre Dame Press, 2011).