Why Common Book Fairs are a Threat to Catholic Education
Catholic education is more than just academics; the mission of Catholic education is to guide students to know, love, and become like Christ. In an address to Catholic educators, Pope Benedict XVI emphasized this point saying that, “every Catholic educational institution is a place to encounter the living God who in Jesus Christ reveals his transforming love and truth.”
This mission gets lost in today’s culture that tries to redefine love and erase the concept of truth. Out of fear, misunderstanding, and/or misguided good intentions, many Catholic schools have let this culture dictate the education they offer their students rather than helping them to understand and evangelize culture with the light of Christ. This challenge is especially evident in the choice of book fairs for Catholic schools.
For decades, Scholastic Book Fairs have been a staple in schools, but their purposeful and proud inclusion of inappropriate and anti-Catholic content directly undermines the faith and values Catholic schools are responsible to nurture and protect. From promoting themes that conflict with Church teachings to exposing children to harmful ideologies and themes, these fairs pose a serious threat to the mission of Catholic education.
By choosing faith-aligned book fair providers, Catholic schools can safeguard their students' spiritual and moral development while ensuring that their events reflect Christ's truth and love.
What are These Controversial Books?
Scholastic and other top book fair providers have chosen to include materials marketed to children that promote or normalize topics such as:
- Alternative family structures
- LGBTQ+ ideologies and sexual experiences
- Various forms of violence and abuse
- Suicide and self-harm
- Occult practices, witchcraft, and demonology
- Themes of moral relativism (Crisis Magazine).
While these subjects are part of important cultural discussions that should be addressed at an appropriate time, they are frequently presented in these children’s books in ways that conflict with Catholic teachings like those on truth, marriage, sexuality, the rights of children to their innocence, the value of human life, and human dignity.
- ie. Kindergarten books like Uncle Bobby's Wedding introduce, legitimize, and normalize same-sex marriage, which is against the sanctity of marriage as a union between one man and one woman meant to image God and His love for us.
Catholic schools are called to vigilantly protect children’s purity and innocence, not to avoid hard conversations forever, but to ensure they happen at the right time, with the right context, and under the loving guidance of teachers and parents who care for children’s souls.
Why Controversial Materials are Dangerous
The Psychological Impact of Inappropriate Books
Exposure to inappropriate materials at a young age can have significant psychological, emotional, and behavioral consequences. Research has shown that when children encounter explicit content/ content beyond their developmental readiness:
- they may experience confusion, guilt, anxiety, or even desensitization to harmful behaviors.
- it increases the risks of depression, suicidal ideation, and distorted perceptions of relationships and morality (NSPCC Learning).
- it can lead to the development of Problem Sexual Behaviors later in life and can be considered as a form of sexual trauma (Lin et al.; Giroux).
Children face significant psychological stressors these days exacerbated by the digital age and a cultural disregard for the sanctity of childhood and family life. They deserve to be protected from further, unnecessary exposure to materials that may cause them additional harm or even solidify harm done by other traumatic experiences.
The Spiritual Impact of Inappropriate Books
Beyond the significant mental and emotional trauma caused by early exposure to confusing and/or explicit content, there are spiritual consequences of these controversial materials.
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Some contemporary literature often places the self at the center: self-fulfillment, self-determination, self-definition.
- This directly opposes the Catholic worldview, grounded in humility, sacrifice, and total dependence on God’s grace. This encourages children to seek selfish desires and lead self-centered lives.
- Literature that lacks an eternal perspective may encourage students to prioritize materialistic values over personal and spiritual growth.
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Books that normalize or even celebrate vice—such as unhealthy relationships, sexual sin, violence, or contempt for religious tradition—dull a student’s ability to recognize virtue.
- Worse, it can convince them that such vices are virtue and train them to fight against true virtue, as seen in today’s culture.
- Adults who promote these books, support these ideologies, and teach them to children–even with good intentions or implicitly by not speaking against them–risk leading children away from the faith or into error about what the faith teaches, which is considered the sin of scandal.
Content that undermines the Catholic faith–both extreme and mild forms–exposes children to moral relativism and related worldviews that can be convincing for children, just as they are for many adults. This can lead them to believe that their Catholic faith and the truths they have learned thus far are simply one opinion among many. This predisposes them to lose their faith, and consequently their souls. In a Church losing many young adults over ideological differences, this exposure cannot be risked for a few extra dollars or rewards for a library or classroom (Pew Research Center).
Why Some Schools Are Hanging On
Diversity and Representation
Some well-meaning teachers, parents, and others argue that it is important and even beneficial to include books with controversial themes like gender fluidity, same-sex attraction, alternative family structures, experiences of abuse, and so on. This argument is based on the belief that providing representation in children's literature helps students feel supported and included.
However, more often, these books support the cultural overemphasis on identity and push children to identify with feelings or sins rather than their inherent dignity as a child of God. Research suggests that this overemphasis on identity can:
- risk psychological harm to children by reducing them to a single trait or experience, such as race, gender, sexual attraction, or victimhood. This can lead to fixed identities and internalization of stereotypes, which negatively impacts self-esteem and academic performance (Kroger, 2017; Steele & Aronson, 1995).
- increase social anxiety as children may feel overly scrutinized or alienated (Jones et al., 2013).
- confuse children, fostering general anxiety and a distorted sense of self.
Alternatively, diversity and representation could be promoted within a school community by sharing information and inspiration from the lives of saints from all over the world with various abilities, disabilities, sinful tendencies, and hard life situations. This offers students beautiful stories to connect with while also proving to them that their situations and struggles do not define them–Christ does.
Catholic school educators and administrators should also be equipped with Catholic resources for students who may be experiencing gender confusion, same-sex attraction, domestic abuse, or other difficult situations.
- National/ International programs like Courage International, Encourage, and Eden Invitation exist to help people who experience gender confusion and same-sex attraction as well as their families as they strive to live virtuous, fulfilling, and joyful lives in accord with the truth of Christ.
- Many Catholic or other Christian domestic and sexual abuse resources exist and are available locally or state-wide. Schools should research and collect information on these resources in their area.
The goal is to actually get children the help and support they need without dismissing their struggles, pain, and confusion as something to embrace, identify with, and celebrate. Catholic schools must uphold the dignity of the whole person as an image of God rather than allow children to be chiseled down to one aspect of their life experience.
Self-Screening Books
Some also argue that it is okay to continue with Scholastic or other leading book fair providers because they are capable of screening the books themselves. However, the sheer volume of titles offered at Scholastic Book Fairs makes it difficult for educators and parents to thoroughly vet materials before students are exposed.
Additionally, books with concerning themes are often not clearly labeled, and descriptions may not provide enough detail for effective pre-screening. For example, the book Drama explores teenage same-sex attraction under the guise of a coming-of-age school play story. There is no indication of these themes in the description of the book, they are only discovered when a child buys it and reads it.
It would take many people many hours to read through all the books, and even then a school would have to be able to trust that each of these adults is on the same page and knows what to look for in these books.
While self-screening is an option, it completely negates the ease of set-up for these book fairs and arguably cuts into the profitability of the book fair if the time spent screening is factored into the cost. Rather than burdening librarians and volunteers with extensive pre-screening, schools can turn to book fair providers with experienced, faithful Catholic curators who already do all the hard work.
Safe Book Fair Alternatives
Fortunately, there are safe, faith-based book fair alternatives with providers who want to protect children and offer carefully screened materials that reflect moral virtue, age-appropriateness, and perspectives grounded in the truth of Christ. These safe book fair alternatives allow Catholic schools to support students' love for reading, raise funds, and ensure that all materials contribute to students’ formation in faith and virtue.
By choosing such providers, Catholic schools can uphold their commitment to protecting students from harmful influences and providing an education that reflects the teachings of Christ and His Church. This choice not only strengthens the school’s mission but also reassures parents that their children’s moral and spiritual development remain higher priorities to the school than money.
Check out our guide to the best book fairs for Catholic schools here!
Conclusion
Catholic schools must prioritize their responsibility to educate students in faith, truth, and virtue. The challenges posed by inappropriate and difficult-to-screen content at Scholastic Book Fairs and other similar book fairs make it clear that these companies are not the best fit.
Jesus Himself warns of the grave responsibility to protect children from moral harm, saying, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea” (Mark 9:42). Jesus was not known to speak in dramatic exaggerations.
Book fairs are not the only or main piece of forming and maintaining an authentically Catholic environment, but they can set a precedent for what a school stands for. By choosing alternative book fair providers that align with Church teachings, Catholic schools can be sure their students are nurtured in environments that foster holiness, integrity, and love for God’s truth without compromising important fundraising opportunities that support libraries and learning. This decision ultimately serves the true mission of Catholic education: to lead students to Christ.