Mankind vs Humankind

[dling]

Is there an official church position on the use of mankind and humankind when speaking generally of “people”.

I notice a lot of gender neutrality in modern Scriptures and hymns that have been recently revised. My concern with the use of “humankind” is that it is lowering persons to a species equal to all others, when we know that God created us “in His image” (Imago Dei). And that we are created a little lower than the angels.

I feel that this movement has come from outside the church, not from within… secular/worldly pressures of feminism. Am I wrong?

So, is it wrong to use the term mankind?

Is “humankind” the official Catholic term to use when speaking of men and women combined in the general sense?

I hope that your answer might help others who struggle with this as well.

Thank you.

Dave

 

[GEddie]

Is there an official church position on the use of mankind and humankind when speaking generally of “people”.

I notice a lot of gender neutrality in modern Scriptures and hymns that have been recently revised. My concern with the use of “humankind” is that it is lowering persons to a species equal to all others, when we know that God created us “in His image” (Imago Dei). And that we are created a little lower than the angels.

I feel that this movement has come from outside the church, not from within… secular/worldly pressures of feminism. Am I wrong?

So, is it wrong to use the term mankind?

Is “humankind” the official Catholic term to use when speaking of men and women combined in the general sense?

I hope that your answer might help others who struggle with this as well.

Thank you.

Dave

While we are to use hymns and translations as they currently exist, and while some parishes have gone off the end in regard to “inclusive language”, the Church is IMS neutral on this matter.

“Mankind” has been the proper usage for centuries. Humankind is correct as well.

ICXC NIKA

 

[dling]

The reason I asked is that I was in a group last week where we are studying “Laudato Si”. The group is led by the nun in our parish. Well, I said “mankind”… and she said “humankind”, and then I said “whatever”. And she said “no not whatever”. This is the same nun that once told our RCIA group (that I was in at the time) that she likes to call the Holy Spirit “she”. I knew better, (As a previous protestant, I had been studying church doctrine for a good year before starting RCIA) but remained silent out of respect. I think she may be one of those radical feminists… anyway, I was trying to find out if the church had an official position on the matter. In most recent writings I seem to notice “humankind” being used. (politically correct me thinks).

 

[Beryllos]

I just conducted a not-very-scientific survey of this by using Google to count the number of times each word appears in certain Catholic web domains.

At vatican.va, mankind outnumbers humankind by a ratio of about 5 to 1. However, this may be skewed by the fact that many documents there were originally written in Latin or other languages, and it was up to certain translators to choose the English word.

At usccb.org, mankind also leads, but by a closer ratio of about 3 to 2. Interestingly, many or perhaps most of the occurrences of “humankind” at usccb are found in their online Bible (version NABRE), while “mankind” seems to be prevalent in other writings (some of which are in common with vatican.va).

Humanity also is often used to mean humankind, though it’s difficult to count by Google because humanity also means human nature or the condition of being human, as in Christ’s humanity (or our humanity).

I think the word choice is a matter of personal preference. Just remember, though, it’s not really about your preference, but the listener’s. Clear and effective communication is the key. If the use of “mankind” becomes a distraction to the one who listens or reads it, then “humankind” or “humanity” would serve better to get your message across.

 

[dling]

Thank you so much for the information and the wisdom.

 

[Beryllos]

The reason I asked is that I was in a group last week where we are studying “Laudato Si”. The group is led by the nun in our parish. Well, I said “mankind”… and she said “humankind”, and then I said “whatever”. And she said “no not whatever”. This is the same nun that once told our RCIA group (that I was in at the time) that she likes to call the Holy Spirit “she”. I knew better, (As a previous protestant, I had been studying church doctrine for a good year before starting RCIA) but remained silent out of respect. I think she may be one of those radical feminists… anyway, I was trying to find out if the church had an official position on the matter. In most recent writings I seem to notice “humankind” being used. (politically correct me thinks).

I once lived in an ultra-politically-correct place, not to name names, where they even changed certain words in the Mass, for example “May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of -]his/-] God’s name, for our good and the good of all -]his/-] God’s holy Church.” While some good Catholics here at CAF would cry “Liturgical Abuse!”, I rather think of it as an adaptation to the local dialect.

 

[Confiteor_Deo]

No, I don’t think there is an official position of the Church regarding these two terms. It is not wrong to say mankind, even if some people may dislike it due to feminism. “Humankind” just seems ridiculous to me.