Belief in universal education as the means to prevent divisions among social classes has long been an important element in American society. This highly-regarded sociological study refutes prejudices against Catholic education, such as claims that Catholic schools are authoritarian, and that they no longer have a valuable role to play in society.

Andrew M. Greeley and Peter H. Rossi tackle issues about Catholic education at all levels: elementary, secondary, and college. These include reasons why families have (and have not) sent their children to Catholic schools, comparisons among different Catholic ethnic groups in their tendency to take advantage of Catholic education, effects of Catholic schools on the religiosity commitment of their students and graduates, and the relationship between religious formation in the home and in Catholic school.

Greeley and Rossi provide a complete picture of the state of American Catholic education on the verge of a new age for Catholicism in the country. Some of their findings--such as the tendency of "Catholic school Catholics" to be more "tolerant" than others--provide insight to the reasons for the profound changes in the American Catholic community that followed in subsequent years.