Sacred and Social: Theological Foundations for Catholic Social Teaching

A study of the deep historical roots of Catholic Social Teaching

What is often neglected in studies of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is the underlying theology that it presumes, especially the biblical and patristic roots that have forged a broader tradition of social thought than is found in the more recent writings of the Catholic hierarchy.

Sacred and Social fills this gap by providing an extended analysis of the Catholic understanding of the human person, especially the beliefs in human dignity and humanity’s essentially social nature. Himes argues that, before the documents of the modern papacy, a rich tradition already shaped and informed the Catholic lens on social reality. He illustrates the theological basis for the ethical commitments of CST with the fundamental theological themes-creation, incarnation, Trinity, Body of Christ-that gave rise to the Catholic social imagination.

Kenneth R. Himes, OFM, is Professor Emeritus in the Theology Department of Boston College, and a resident Franciscan scholar at Siena College in Albany. A former president of the Catholic Theological Society of America, he is the editor of Modern Catholic Social Teaching.