Towards a Politics of Communion

Winner of the Ratzinger Foundation Expanded Reason Award 2023

Anna Rowlands offers a guide to the main time periods, key figures, documents and themes of thinking developed as Catholic Social Teaching (CST). A wealth of material has been produced by the Catholic Church during its long history which considers the implications of scripture, doctrine and natural law for the way these elements live together in community — most particularly in the tradition of social encyclicals dating from 1891. Rowlands takes a fresh approach in weaving overviews of the central principles with the development of thinking on political community and democracy, migration, and integral ecology, and by considering the increasingly critical questions concerning the role of CST in a pluralist and post-secular context. As such this book offers both an incisive overview of this distinctive body of Catholic political theology and a new and challenging contribution to the debate about the transformative potential of CST in contemporary society.

Winner of Ratzinger Foundation Expanded Reason Award 2024 (UK)

“"No one brings the worlds of social activism and the academy together with more energy, invention and style than Anna Rowlands. ... [The book] is a fluent and polyphonic introduction to the Catholic vision of the good life." - The Tablet”

No one brings the worlds of social activism and the academy together with more energy, invention and style than Anna Rowlands. ... [The book] is a fluent and polyphonic introduction to the Catholic vision of the good life. The Tablet
Those interested in political theology from a wide range of perspectives will appreciate this lucidly written [book]. Church Times
Towards a Politics of Communion sets a new standard for scholarship on Catholic social teaching. It is an invaluable resource for scholars and ideal for inclusion on graduate-level syllabi. At a moment in which the relevance of Catholic social teaching could hardly be more apparent, Towards a Politics of Communion solidifies Rowlands as one of its most trustworthy and sophisticated guides. Scottish Journal of Theology

Anna Rowlands is St Hilda Professor of Catholic Social Thought and Practice in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University, UK, and Chair of the UK Centre for Catholic Social Thought and Practice.

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