Religious Lessons: Catholic Sisters and the Captured Schools Crisis in New Mexico - Paperback

by Kathleen Holscher (Author)

Religious Lessons tells the story of Zellers v. Huff, a court case that challenged the employment of nearly 150 Catholic sisters in public schools across New Mexico in 1948. Known nationally as the "Dixon case," after one of the towns involved, it was the most famous in a series of midcentury lawsuits, all targeting what opponents provocatively dubbed "captive schools." Spearheaded by Protestants and Other Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the publicity campaign built around Zellers drew on centuries-old rhetoric of Catholic captivity to remind Americans about the threat of Catholic power in the post-War era, and the danger Catholic sisters dressed in full habits posed to American education.

Author Biography

Kathleen Holscher is assistant professor of religious studies and American studies, and holds the endowed chair in Catholic studies, at the University of New Mexico. She completed her graduate work at Princeton University, and her undergraduate degree at Swarthmore College. She is originally from Northwest Indiana, and currently lives in Albuquerque with her husband Alonso and her dog Rafa.