Homophobia in the Hallways

Homophobia in the Hallways: Heterosexism and Transphobia in Canadian Catholic Schools by Tonya D. Callaghan is a powerful critique of Catholic schools. The book’s documentation of the systemic marginalization of and discrimination against lgbtq students demands the attention of Catholic educators in Canada and the United States.

As a work in the field of education (as opposed to religious studies or theology), this book is rooted in empirical research that is interpreted through a lens of critical theory. Thus, the book is a work of “anti-oppressive educational research [that] exposes how racism, sexism, classism, ableism, heterosexism, and other forms of oppression operate in schools and proposes ways to redress discrimination and domination in school settings” (30).

Callaghan first provides a very helpful introduction, in which they note their use of “lgbtq” instead of the more common, capitalized version of the acronym, because it is “less jarring and less likely to linguistically set up the population as an obvious Other” (4). The introduction then situates the conversation about homophobia in Catholic schools within the wider contexts of Canadian education, noting that in the provinces of Alberta and Ontario—where Callaghan did their research—Catholic schools are publicly funded. Importantly, Callaghan draws attention to the tension between the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (similar to the US Bill of Rights), which is understood to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and the ways that these teachings are lived out (or not) in Catholic schools.

After a brief first chapter that describes the lenses of critical theory that will guide their analysis of the data, Callaghan turns in chapter 2 to a rich description of the interview participants in their study. The bulk of the chapter presents “narrative vignettes” based on interview data from six current and former staff members, six former students from Alberta, and six former students from Ontario. In telling the stories of these eighteen interviewees, Callaghan paints a vivid picture of the kinds of homophobic and transphobic experiences that lgbtq students and staff experience in Catholic schools. The stories are harrowing and convicting.

Callaghan turns in chapter 3 to media reports of cases involving lgbtq individuals who have used the legal system to resist homophobic policies in Catholic schools. Using notable cases, Callaghan describes both the successes of lgbtq individuals and the significant opposition they faced from Catholic schools. They note the irony of Catholic schools’ resistance to recognizing the rights of lgbtq students and staff: “separate schools in Canada—established in the nineteenth century because of the perceived need to protect Catholic faith minorities from a hostile Protestant majority—are now often culpable in the twenty-first century of similar hostility towards minority groups” (115).

In chapter 4, Callaghan critiques two official documents that are intended to guide Catholic schools in Ontario and Alberta in interpreting and implementing Catholic teachings about lgbtq issues. Callaghan notes that the documents do not question the theologies behind the Catholic Church’s teachings on homosexuality; rather, they provide guidance for adhering to those teachings. They rightly point out that, despite a claim to be pastoral documents, they are pastorally simplistic, reflect a hierarchical control of schools, and reproduce material that can lead to real physical and psychological harm for lgbtq individuals in Catholic schools.

In the fifth chapter, Callaghan brings the narrative vignettes, the media reports of legal cases, and the published documents together and analyzes the power dynamics that are present in Catholic schools. Drawing from the work of Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, and Henry Giroux, Callaghan describes “the dynamics of power and authority operating in Catholic schools” (169) and explores the possibilities of resistance to the Church’s teaching from within schools. 

Finally, a brief conclusion to the book provides an overview of Callaghan’s project and, importantly, notes opportunities for further research. They note that the project does not address homophobia and transphobia in private Catholic schools in Canada, in Catholic schools in provinces where these schools are not publicly funded, or in Catholic schools in other countries. The relatively narrow focus of this study means that more research is needed to provide as full a picture as possible of the discrimination and harm experienced by lgbtq students and staff in Catholic schools.

Speaking as a Catholic theologian and religious educator, I found Callaghan’s book compelling. As institutions of the Catholic Church, schools should be places that enact the Church’s social teachings about the dignity of the human person and the preferential option for the vulnerable. These teachings, rooted in the biblical commandment to love one another, should be the lens through which Catholic teachings are interpreted. Callaghan’s book is one piece among many that points to the ways that schools fail to live up to our shared Christian calling.

That said, there are several places in the book where I think that Callaghan would have benefited from a closer collaboration with Catholic theologians. First, while they note the resistance to the Church’s teachings on homosexuality within schools in Ontario and Alberta, they do not engage any of the growing body of theological and pastoral literature that engages many of the questions that Callaghan is asking in this book. Worth naming is the recent Pastoral Care to and Ministry with LGBTQ Youth and Young Adults by Arthur Canales (Wipf & Stock, 2022), along with the work of Catholic theologians and ethicists whose work pushes back on the “intrinsically disordered” language used in official Church documents. The work of these theologians, ethicists, and pastoral ministers disrupts the image of a monolithic Catholic Church that Callaghan presents.

Second, Callaghan’s analysis of the power dynamics present in Catholic schools would probably benefit from a more nuanced understanding of the hierarchical structure of the Church. While it is certainly true that documents that originate from the Vatican, from episcopal conferences, and from local bishops are authoritative and carefully attended to by Catholic schools, it is also the case that significant power resides in the sensus fidelium (the sense of the faithful). The beliefs and practices of the local community are theologically important data for theologians and bishops; there is much wider variety in the beliefs of North American Catholics on lgbtq issues than is reflected in Callaghan’s book. In fact, this is what explains the cases of resistance that Callaghan highlights in their book; framing this resistance in light of the sensus fidelium might strengthen their call for more resistance and increased ally-ship, particularly among Catholic school staff.

Cynthia L. Cameron is assistant professor of religious education and the Patrick and Barbara Keenan Chair of Religious Education at the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto.

Cynthia Cameron

Date Of Review:

April 25, 2023