Literacy rates of Catholics Over the Last 2000 Years

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JamalChristophr

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Most of us now rely on books as a substantial component of nurturing and maintaining our spiritual lives, but I think in 1000 AD or even 1500 AD many Christians did not know how to read. Does anyone know what the literacy rates have been in Europe and / or the Holy Land from century to century starting back in 30 A.D. and going forward?
 
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Seen it before but haven’t read. Waiting for cliff notes version from Clare. 🙂
 
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I don’t know exact numbers, but literacy rates were certainly much lower prior to the invention of the printing press.

I’ve always seen in this a great reason for why “sola scriptura” was impractical for the bulk of Christian history. Sure, in a society where a large percentage of people are literate and Bibles can be had for $5 or less, it might seem plausible that Christians can get by with just themselves and the Bible. But considering that was very much not the case for the first 1500 years of Church history, and isn’t even the case everywhere in the world today, it makes much more sense to have an oral component with Tradition and the help of other human beings in the Magisterium.
 
Well, remember that most of those denominations didn’t even spring up until 200 years ago.
 
Right. I tend to think it’s because their theology wouldn’t have made any sense at all prior to the wider availability of printed books. But I could be oversimplifying things.
 
And that there are few if any Lutherans who believe as Luther did, Calvinists who believe as Calvin did, etc. etc. Theological entropy naturally followed. Only the dust of the reformation diaspora remains.

OP, I suspect that you have spoken with someone who accuses the Catholic Church of keeping the unwashed masses illiterate so that they would remain under the power of the hierarchy?

If so, ask them where Christ taught bible alone. Or wrote the bible. Or any part of it. Or specified the names of the 27 books in it. Or commanded the twelve to write it. Or…or…or…
 
Actually I was just curious specifically how rates had changed. We’re all called to holiness and hopefully learning what the church teaches and nurturing our spiritual life but many Catholics simply could not read . Literacy among Catholics throughout history would have multiple implications.
 
Literacy is one thing. Cognitive ability is another. 90 years ago, Monsignor Ronald Knox lamented the fact that he lived in an age when everyone was taught how to read, but none was taught how to think.
 
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