[Book Review]; Why Catholicism Matters

     Why Catholicism Matters: 

How Catholic Virtues can Reshape Society in the 21st Century

Bill Donohue

Image Books, 2012 

Any person, no matter their personal beliefs, must admit that Christianity, and in a specific way Catholicism, has had a major impact on the development of society. Now, many people may see this is a negative thing, or may wish to downplay how much it actually affected society, but to some extent it has impacted society. In this book, Bill Donohue, the President of the Catholic League, wrote this book to explore that very topic, looking at the way that Catholicism and its virtues could positively impact the modern world and society. 

In the hope of intellectual honesty, I feel I must start by saying that this was not my all-time favorite book. There were things, you will see, that I liked a lot, but there were also things I did not like. I hope to give a fair review of this book on its own merits, but it would be impossible to judge the book on anything outside of my own experience with it, and so I want to be honest and say that my experience was relatively mediocre.

Now, with that said, I think Donohue does some very nice things in this book. To start, his idea of shaping the look at society in the form of the cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance) was a very astute way to shape his observations. With these virtues, he was able to look at so many aspects of a society - from government to economy to morality and everything in between - in an orderly way that one could follow along with. His knowledge of the history of modern society as well as the teachings of the Catholic Church cannot be questioned, and neither can his research. Throughout this entire book, Donohue weaves in stories of men and women who affected modern society in various ways, showing their contributions in light of the overall virtue that guided their steps. 

In all honesty, I think that what I didn't like about the book was more of a pre-disposition I had than anything. Based on the title of the book, I was hoping for a more compelling argument for virtue, but instead found this book to be more of an apology or explanation for the need for Catholic virtue. I believe that I read this book hoping for something I could hand to someone who was staunchly opposed to the Church and it might change their perspective, but I found the language and perspective much more geared to a person of faith hoping to expand their own defense of the faith. While this is not an bad thing to do in a book, it simply was not what I was hoping he might take this chance to do. 

Would I recommend this book? I think I would, but with some caveats. I would recommend this book in the circumstance that one has people to discuss the book with. Donohue presents many good points, and much evidence behind his points, which beg for discussion and further understanding of how one can use that knowledge to better society. In that sense, then, I would recommend this book not as a means to conversion, but as a deepening of one's ability to present the faith to the world in the hopes of effecting society. 

I didn't hate this book; I truly didn't. For me, I think, it simply was not what I wanted or needed. I did not desire another book defending Christianity, but rather a book exploding into the modern world with the passion that can truly change society. I did not find exactly what I was looking for here, but that's okay; maybe you will. 

If you want more information about the author of this book, Bill Donohue, visit the Image Books author bio page: Dr. William Donohue. If you want more information on the book, or would like to purchase the book, visit the Image Books' page for that: Why Catholicism Matters. 

"I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review."