Can ‘Catholic joy’ save society? This growing network of Catholic schools says ‘yes’

By Peter Pinedo

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 2, 2024 / 09:22 am

Half of adult Americans who were raised Catholic no longer practice the faith, according to a study by the Pew Research Center. In addition, Pew has found the number of “nones” or people who do not identify themselves with a particular religion in the United States continues to climb.

To Dale Ahlquist, a Catholic author, speaker, and president of the Gilbert Keith Chesterton Society, the root of the problem lies in a “crisis” in education. Yet, Ahlquist believes that a growing network of Catholic schools based on the thought and writings of G.K. Chesterton just might have the solution.

Rooted in the “truth, goodness, and beauty” of thousands of years of Catholic tradition and buttressed by an ever-expanding network of high schools across the country — 59 and counting — more and more Catholic parents are opting to send their teens to a “Chesterton Academy.”

What is a Chesterton Academy?

Ahlquist, who helped found the first Chesterton Academy in 2008, told CNA that the Chesterton academies combine faith and reason, and rather than teaching students what to think, they teach them how to think.