This book brings development theory and practice into dialogue with a religious tradition in order to construct a new, transdisciplinary vision of development with integral ecology at its heart. It focuses on the Catholic social tradition and its conception of integral human development, on the one hand, and on the works of economist and philosopher Amartya Sen which underpin the human development approach, on the other. The book discusses how these two perspectives can mutually enrich each other around three areas: their views on the concept and meaning of development and progress; their understanding of what it is to be human – that is, their anthropological vision; and their analysis of transformational pathways for addressing social and environmental degradation. It also examines how both human development and the Catholic social tradition can function as complementary analytical lenses and mobilizing frames for embarking on the journey of structural and personal transformation to bring all life systems, human and non-human, back into balance. This book is written for researchers and students in development studies, theology, and religious studies, as well as professional audiences in development organizations.

Living the Catholic Social Tradition combines four essays from leading scholars with eight concrete case studies based on community social justice projects across the country. This unique combination of theory and reflective practice provides university students and adult learners with a framework for understanding the Catholic social tradition and a demonstration of its positive social impact on the people it serves. The reader first learns about the challenges facing Catholic universities in educating the current generation about the Catholic social tradition. The next essays provide insights into the ways in which the tradition frames and contributes to social change; approaches to understanding the key concepts and documents that make up the tradition; and an understanding of the forces confronting change agents in major metropolitan areas. Undertaken by younger scholars and activists, the eight case studies tackle the issues that grass roots groups and visionary leaders face as they try to bring about positive change in their communities.

The Vision of Catholic Social Thought traces the emergence of solidarity and human rights as critical theological and philosophical pillars of the anthropology and ethics foundational to the development of Catholic social teaching. Meghan J. Clark argues that the integration of human rights and the virtue of solidarity at the root of the Catholic social tradition are the unique contributions Catholic thought makes to contemporary debates in ethics, political and philosophical theory. Building upon the historical framework of the development of Catholic social thought, drawing deeply from the papal encyclical tradition and the theological and ethical developments of Vatican II, Clark forwards a constructive vision of virtue and social practice, applying this critical question of human rights on the international stage.

In Rethinking Poverty, James P. Bailey argues that most contemporary policies aimed at reducing poverty in the United States are flawed because they focus solely on insufficient income. Bailey argues that traditional policies such as minimum wage laws, food stamps, housing subsidies, earned income tax credits, and other forms of cash and non-cash income supports need to be complemented by efforts that enable the poor to save and accumulate assets. Drawing on Michael Sherraden’s work on asset building and scholarship by Melvin Oliver, Thomas Shapiro, and Dalton Conley on asset discrimination, Bailey presents us with a novel and promising way forward to combat persistent and morally unacceptable poverty in the United States and around the world. Rethinking Poverty makes use of a significant body of Catholic social teachings in its argument for an asset development strategy to reduce poverty. These Catholic teachings include, among others, principles of human dignity, the social nature of the person, the common good, and the preferential option for the poor. These principles and the related social analyses have not yet been brought to bear on the idea of asset-building for the poor by those working within the Catholic social justice tradition. This book redresses this shortcoming, and further, claims that a Catholic moral argument for asset-building for the poor can be complemented and enriched by Martha Nussbaum’s “capabilities approach.” This book will affect current debates and practical ways to reduce poverty, as well as the future direction of Catholic social teaching.

This volume brings into conversation two major moral traditions in the social sciences and humanities that offer common areas for understanding, interpreting, and transforming the world. Over the last decade, moral theologians who work on issues of poverty, social justice, human rights, and political institutions have been finding inspiration in the capability approach (CA). Conversely, social scientists who have been working on issues of poverty and social justice from a CA perspective have been finding elements in the Catholic social tradition (CST) to overcome some of the limitations of the CA, such as its vagueness regarding what counts as a valuable human life and its strong individual focus. Integral Human Development brings together for the first time social scientists and theologians in dialogue over their respective uses of CST and CA. The contributors discuss what their mutual grounds are, where they diverge, and where common areas of collaboration and transformative action can be found. The contributors offer a critical analysis of CA from the perspective of theology. They also provide an original account of CST. The book offers a broader historical, biblical, social, economic, political, and ecological understanding of CST than that which is currently available in the CST literature. The book will interest students and practitioners in global affairs, development studies, or the social sciences who seek to better understand the Catholic tradition and its social teachings and what they can offer to address current socio-environmental challenges. Contributors: Séverine Deneulin, Clemens Sedmak, Amy Daughton, Dana Bates, Lori Keleher, Joshua Schulz, Katie Dunne, Cathriona Russell, Meghan J. Clark, Ilaria Schnyder von Wartensee, Elizabeth Hlabse, Guillermo Otano Jiménez, James P. Bailey, Helmut P. Gaisbauer, and Augusto Zampini-Davies.

"Emphasizes that Catholic Social Tradition stems not from arbitrary laws laid down by Church leaders, but from moral guidance inspired by Scripture"--