Understanding Catholicism

by Monika K. Hellwig

The Classic Work Simplified and Updated Written by one of the country's most respected Catholic theologians, for twenty years this book has been the standard in explaining the major doctrines of the faith. Here now is a fully revised edition, updated throughout by Hellwig herself. The result offers solid, trustworthy answers to questions that trouble most thinking Catholics. This concise overview of the Catholic faith-- · uses inclusive language for God and gender. · streamlines the original's expression of ideas into simpler terms. · clarifies the book's more difficult material. · covers a wide range of topics. · addresses the major questions raised by general readers over the past twenty years.

Genres: Catholic, Religion

200 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1981

Reviews

[Dan Charnas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was able to acquire a great deal of knowledge about Catholicism from this book. As a person who is not a Catholic but having spent my life among many Catholics and having lived with a Catholic woman for the past 13 years, there were many religious concepts that never were clear to me until now.
Ms. Hellwig was a brilliant theologist, and this is evident from the way that she crafted her sentences. So many of them contain multiple ideas or multiple explanations that at times I wished that she had written more like Hemingway! Therefore, I found that I had to re-read a number of passages to be sure that I got the gist. Nevertheless, the book is well-written and well-organized.
Ms. Hellwig obviously was a Catholic person of deep faith, yet she wrote this book in a manner that respects different views and different religions. Rather than proselytize or preach, she compares and contrasts Catholicism to Judaism, Protestantism, Islam, and other religions and is as objective as she can be, given that in order to explain Catholicism (or other monotheistic religions) properly, the reader must acknowledge the "mystery" aspects of God.
I definitely recommend this book to those who would seek a better understanding of Catholicism, and there are a number of books that Ms. Hellwig cited with each chapter as references that would seem to be worthwhile reading as well.

[Ponderosa65 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was on the syllabus for a required class I took at Boston College my freshman year. As a cradle Catholic, I was mildly interested in my faith. This book brought things into focus and helped me to understand better how catholic theology evolved, as well as the different veins of thinking that all flow from and return to the same heart. It helped, of course, that the class was taught by an energized Jesuit. Both this specific Jesuit and this book led me down a path of discovery and towards God.

It for sure requires some fundamental catechesis and is not a CCD primer.

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as understanding certain theological issues with more clarity this book certainly adds some clarity, but not enough to be thought of as an introduction to Catholicism on the whole. There were certain aspects of it even compelling (e.g. the way she describes various facets of normal life being understood as revelation), and others not as much (e.g. her attachment to liberation theology, which is a small part of Catholic theology as a whole).

[Joshua Duffy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this one for an "Introduction to Catholic Studies" University class. It was easy to read and very thorough but I just thought Hellwig's theology was a little too loose for my liking. I guess this is in keeping with the spirit of Vatican II, but I felt it didn't really express historical Catholicism like I thought it was going to.

[Sarah]

I had to read this for class...