Anti-Catholicism in the Academy

What are the philosophies, and who were the philosophers most influential in the current anti-Christian influence upon American college students? Two come to mind: Antonio Gramsci and Herbert Marcuse. They are still taught today, 60 years later. And what actions might Marxist university professors be responsible for besides what they teach?

Antonio Gramsci

Antonio Gramsci is probably the most influential European social and economic theorist of the 20th century. He is referred to as a neo-Marxist by proclaiming his opposition to capitalism and supporting public ownership of wealth and property. Since capitalist societies are controlled by ideology and cultural means, Gramsci called for a systematic attack on its ideology and a breakdown of its culture. This included an attack on Christianity which Gramsci believed the glue of the culture. Only this could alter the people’s consciousness and thus pave the way toward a progressive civil society. Nonbelievers find it easy to believe in its alternative, socialism. 

He referred to his theory as ‘Cultural Hegemony.’ ‘Cultural Hegemony’ referred to the social forces supporting the capitalist ruling class control over the culture. You can change the culture in two ways. Tear down the myth of western heroes [Columbus, Washington and Jefferson, even John Wayne, and the Lone Ranger, etc.]. Support the antagonists, [Che Guevara, the Sandinistas, Bonnie and Clyde, even today’s Jussie Smollett and Luigi Mangione]. He then advocated the working class to join forces with minorities to bring on revolutionary change, tear Christianity, especially Catholicism, and as a result, bring down the capitalist ruling class and system. The intelligentsia would have the responsibility to promote the change. And there you have the key to socialist success. 

Herbert Marcuse

Historians give Herbert Marcuse [pronounced Mar-coosa] most of the credit for inspiring student uprisings and rebellions of the 1960s in both Europe and the United States. Referred to as ‘the guru of the new left’, and proud of his notoriety, Marcuse maintained that both continents, especially the United States were repressive societies – politically, economically, humanistically, artistically, and sexually, and called for freedom seeking youth to rebel against it. Hippies loved him. This included criticism of the foundation of its culture, Christianity. He inspired media famous revolutionaries such as Abbie Hoffman, Rudy Deutschke, Angela Davis, and Daniel Cohn-Bendit. His works such as One-Dimensional Man and Eros and Civilization were on top of the reading list for America’s Students for a Democratic Society [SDS] and Italy’s Le Briggate Rosse. Democrat Party leaders today are students of the 60s. Marcuse was their intellectual hero. After escaping Germany, he became a professor at Brandeis University and afterward at the University of California, San Diego. Then Governor Ronald Reagan was unable to have UCSD bar him from teaching and his left anarchist ideas reaching the 60s youth.

Besides teaching the downside of our American heroes and at the same time inspiring the anarchy of nihilism, it is not all. How’s about ruining the nation of Venezuela and spying for Fidel Castro? Sounds kind of harsh, doesn’t it? The general understanding of the damage done might be their propagandizing throughout the curriculum, even in high school. Or it might be the romanticizing of Marxist utopia to its students and then encouraging student riots, rebellions and overall academic mayhem without they themselves taking part. Students were as slates to paint upon and tools for what they wouldn’t do themselves nor have the courage for. The dictatorship of the curriculum specialists in our public schools has been inching its way into our universities slowly but surely. Case in point, Florida International University was on its way in the 1980s and I didn’t even realize it.

Florida International University [FIU] is the state University of Florida at Miami. It is worlds apart from my provincial regional university in Minnesota, Winona State. FIU prides itself as uniquely different from others in the Florida state university system in both its globalist curriculum and most of its faculty from outside the United States. It also considers itself a research university of renowned international professors, all well published and highly regarded in educational circles. I received my doctorate there. Two of my major professors considered themselves Marxist. Nothing unique here, but let’s call them Prof. E. and Prof. A.

Professor E. was previously the Minister of Education of Venezuela and Asst. Minister of Education in Spain. He specialized in International Development Education [IDE]. He gave me the responsibility of creating a Master’s Degree program in IDE for FIU; that is, writing up course descriptions for the M.S. degree in the university catalogue. He wanted it fashioned after other universities that offered the program: Harvard, Stanford, Vanderbilt, UCLA, Columbia. So, I researched those programs and replicated the major parameters. We created the degree program designed to train educators in planning educational systems in third world countries. He did that for Venezuela. In 1976 he designed the Venezuelan system according to Marxist ideology. We see the results of that today. He wanted to do the same for these small countries.

So, Professor E. and Professor A. sought out and recruited students, not only from South Florida but also Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Columbia, Guatemala and the Caribbean. Even Cuba. Somehow, they were allowed in the 1980s and 90s.

Professor A., being a Cuban refugee himself, would visit Cuba to recruit. Simultaneously, he was a consultant for the Miami-Dade County Police Department. When he would visit Cuba, I suppose at some evening cocktail parties, representatives of the Cuban government would casually bring up the topic of the Miami Police Department. Professor A, ever the conversationalist and naively thrilled to be part of these international tête-à-têtes in his home country, probably spoke a little too much and to the wrong guy. Turned out he was speaking to a double agent, and upon return to the U. S. was arrested and charged with spying for Fidel Castro. Such could not be tolerated during the Bush administration.

Being a student of the 60s and visiting Europe often, I had entertained leftist ideas and somewhat a part of the 60s youth movement. So, when interacting with these guys while working on my doctorate, I certainly knew what they were talking about, and knew where their sympathies lie. But I grew up. Professor A. was still naive as far as I could see, and Professor E. was a stickler on academic freedom. Seems the FBI gave him a hard time during his tenure at the University of Nebraska. They knew him. Miami at the time was not very tolerant of Marxism due to the large Cuban refugee population. Consequently, my colleagues were not outspoken about these ideas of theirs. Not like today. Nor were their courses taught overly ideological, but rather practical, focusing on the needs of the country as it developed economically. Good guys really, very professional. But this is what I remember most while at FIU and certainly learned a lot at my international university. 

Professor E. moved on to the University of Texas, now retired. Professor A. was released from jail after a short stint. Now retired. Hope he kept his retirement benefits.

So, not only can anti-American, anti-Catholic philosophy be injected into the curriculum by university professors, but also their own style of devious action. I wonder what some of the other foreign professors are up to?

Source: Baglino, Michael J. 2023. From Gramsci to Freud: 7 Anti Catholic Philosophers Who Ruined America. New York: LT Press.