The Catholic Social Imagination: Activism and the Just Society in Mexico and the United States
by Joseph M. Palacios
University of Chicago Press, 2007 Paper: 978-0-226-64501-8 | eISBN: 978-0-226-64502-5 | Cloth: 978-0-226-64500-1 Library of Congress Classification BX1753.P28 2007 Dewey Decimal Classification 261.80882827
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
ABOUT THIS BOOK
The reach of the Catholic Church is arguably greater than that of any other religion, extending across diverse political, ethnic, class, and cultural boundaries. But what is it about Catholicism that resonates so profoundly with followers who live under disparate conditions? What is it, for instance, that binds parishioners in America with those in Mexico? For Joseph M. Palacios, what unites Catholics is a sense of being Catholic—a social imagination that motivates them to promote justice and build a better world.
In The Catholic Social Imagination, Palacios gives readers a feeling for what it means to be Catholic and put one’s faith into action. Tracing the practices of a group of parishioners in Oakland, California, and another in Guadalajara, Mexico, Palacios reveals parallels—and contrasts—in the ways these ordinary Catholics receive and act on a church doctrine that emphasizes social justice. Whether they are building a supermarket for the low-income elderly or waging protests to promote school reform, these parishioners provide important insights into the construction of the Catholic social imagination. Throughout, Palacios also offers important new cultural and sociological interpretations of Catholic doctrine on issues such as poverty, civil and human rights, political participation, and the natural law.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Joseph M. Palacios is assistant professor of sociology and Latin American studies at Georgetown University.
REVIEWS
“In this fine-grained ethnographic analysis, Joseph Palacios reveals how the teaching of the Catholic Church on poverty, human rights, immigration, and labor rights is brought to bear on different societies. He shows how differing civil society structures and divergent historical experiences of the Catholic Church in Mexico and the United States explain the contrasting patterns of church-based public engagement and societal influence in the two countries.”--Richard L. Wood, author of Faith in Action: Religion, Race, and Democratic Organizing in America
— Richard L. Wood
“Palacios’s book shows that American and Mexican Catholics are both thoroughly Catholic and thoroughly committed to Catholic social teaching, even if they think and act in different ways. Palacios describes the strong and weak points of each group, and what they have to learn from each other. Perhaps this well written and effectively argued book will help them do so. For the rest of us it gives intriguing comparative evidence of the significant role religion plays in today's world.”--Robert N. Bellah, coauthor of Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life
— Robert N. Bellah
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface and Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Part 1: The Catholic Church Takes on Social Justice as Doctrine
Chapter 1: The Mission and Struggle of Roman Catholics to Create a Just Society
Chapter 2: Political and Cultural Construction of the Catholic Social Doctrine
Part 2: One Church, One Border, Two Justices
Chapter 3: The U.S. Case: Pragmatic andPractice Oriented
Chapter 4: The Mexican Case: Doctrinally Oriented
Part 3: A Faith That Does Justice?
Chapter 5: The Catholic Social Imagination as Doctrine and Practice
Appendix A:Principles of Catholic Social Justice Doctrine
Appendix B:Research Sites and Instruments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
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The Catholic Social Imagination: Activism and the Just Society in Mexico and the United States
by Joseph M. Palacios
University of Chicago Press, 2007 Paper: 978-0-226-64501-8 eISBN: 978-0-226-64502-5 Cloth: 978-0-226-64500-1
The reach of the Catholic Church is arguably greater than that of any other religion, extending across diverse political, ethnic, class, and cultural boundaries. But what is it about Catholicism that resonates so profoundly with followers who live under disparate conditions? What is it, for instance, that binds parishioners in America with those in Mexico? For Joseph M. Palacios, what unites Catholics is a sense of being Catholic—a social imagination that motivates them to promote justice and build a better world.
In The Catholic Social Imagination, Palacios gives readers a feeling for what it means to be Catholic and put one’s faith into action. Tracing the practices of a group of parishioners in Oakland, California, and another in Guadalajara, Mexico, Palacios reveals parallels—and contrasts—in the ways these ordinary Catholics receive and act on a church doctrine that emphasizes social justice. Whether they are building a supermarket for the low-income elderly or waging protests to promote school reform, these parishioners provide important insights into the construction of the Catholic social imagination. Throughout, Palacios also offers important new cultural and sociological interpretations of Catholic doctrine on issues such as poverty, civil and human rights, political participation, and the natural law.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Joseph M. Palacios is assistant professor of sociology and Latin American studies at Georgetown University.
REVIEWS
“In this fine-grained ethnographic analysis, Joseph Palacios reveals how the teaching of the Catholic Church on poverty, human rights, immigration, and labor rights is brought to bear on different societies. He shows how differing civil society structures and divergent historical experiences of the Catholic Church in Mexico and the United States explain the contrasting patterns of church-based public engagement and societal influence in the two countries.”--Richard L. Wood, author of Faith in Action: Religion, Race, and Democratic Organizing in America
— Richard L. Wood
“Palacios’s book shows that American and Mexican Catholics are both thoroughly Catholic and thoroughly committed to Catholic social teaching, even if they think and act in different ways. Palacios describes the strong and weak points of each group, and what they have to learn from each other. Perhaps this well written and effectively argued book will help them do so. For the rest of us it gives intriguing comparative evidence of the significant role religion plays in today's world.”--Robert N. Bellah, coauthor of Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life
— Robert N. Bellah
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface and Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Part 1: The Catholic Church Takes on Social Justice as Doctrine
Chapter 1: The Mission and Struggle of Roman Catholics to Create a Just Society
Chapter 2: Political and Cultural Construction of the Catholic Social Doctrine
Part 2: One Church, One Border, Two Justices
Chapter 3: The U.S. Case: Pragmatic andPractice Oriented
Chapter 4: The Mexican Case: Doctrinally Oriented
Part 3: A Faith That Does Justice?
Chapter 5: The Catholic Social Imagination as Doctrine and Practice
Appendix A:Principles of Catholic Social Justice Doctrine
Appendix B:Research Sites and Instruments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
It can take 2-3 weeks for requests to be filled.
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE