The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Catholicism - (Wiley Blackwell Companions to Religion) 2nd Edition (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In his classic 1947 work, Catholicism, the Jesuit theologian Henri de Lubac sought to present a picture of Catholicism, not as a body of dogmas or a set of institutional structures, but as a living social organism that "grows under the action of a single life-force" and whose "scope remains God's secret" (de Lubac 1988, 47). Confronted with a Church grown defensive in the face of modern Western culture, a Church that deployed its doctrines and structures to fend off a hostile world, de Lubac sought to remind his readers that the doctrines and structures of the Church are not ends in themselves, much less weapons, but rather are part of a dynamic social process that we might call "being Catholic." This activity of being Catholic is the subject of the Companion"--

Book Synopsis

Provides a broad and deep survey of Roman Catholic life and thought, updated and expanded throughout

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Catholicism provides an authoritative overview of the history, doctrine, practices, and expansion of Catholicism. Written by a group of distinguished scholars, this comprehensive reference work offers an illuminating account of the global, historical, and cultural phenomena of Catholicism. Accessible chapters address central topics in the practice of Catholic theology and the development of doctrine, including God and Jesus Christ, creation and Church, the Virgin Mary, the sacraments, moral theology, eschatology, and more. Throughout the text, the authors illustrate the unity and diversity of Catholic life and thought while highlighting the ways Catholicism overlaps with, and transforms, other ways of living and thinking.

Now in its second edition, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Catholicism is fully updated to include recent developments in the study of Catholicism. Extensively revised and expanded chapters, many of which written by new authors, address contemporary issues such as theology and politics, environmentalism, and the clerical sexual abuse crisis. Entirely new chapters cover the early modern Church, the Bible in Catholic theology, the Eastern Catholic churches, liturgy, care for creation, the consecrated life, challenges for the Catholic Church, and more.

An informed and engaging intellectual journey through the past and present of Roman Catholicism, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Catholicism

• Illustrates the diversity of modern Catholic life and thought
• Describes Catholics in different lands, including the Holy Land, India, Africa, Europe, the British Isles, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas
• Surveys spirituality and ecumenism, inter-religious dialog, Catholic schools and hospitals, art and the sciences, the Holy See, and other central Catholic institutions and practices
• Covers major eras in Catholic history, from the Scriptures and the early Church to Post-Modernity
• Features new material on diverse practices of Catholicism across cultures, the global dimensions of the Catholic Church, race and ethnicity, and Eastern Catholic Churches

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Catholicism, Second Edition, is the ideal textbook for surveys classes on Catholicism and Catholic theology in Catholic, Protestant, and non-confessional colleges and universities. It is also an invaluable resource for scholars and general readers interested in broadening their knowledge of Catholicism.

From the Back Cover

An informed and engaging intellectual journey through the past and present of Roman Catholicism

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Catholicism provides a comprehensive survey of Roman Catholic life and thought, covering the history, doctrine, practices, and diversity of Catholicism. Accessible chapters address central topics in Catholic theology and doctrine, explore Catholic cultures around the world, describe major eras in Catholic history, discuss moral theology and eschatology, highlight the ways Catholicism interacts with and influences other ways of living and thinking, and more.

This fully revised second edition incorporates recent developments in the study of Catholicism and Catholic theology, featuring new material on diverse practices of Catholicism across cultures, the global dimensions of the Catholic Church, race and ethnicity, and non-Roman and non-Western liturgies. Entirely new chapters cover the early modern Church, the Bible in Catholic theology, the Eastern Catholic churches, liturgy, care for creation, challenges for the Catholic Church, and the consecrated life. Updated and expanded chapters address contemporary issues such as theology and politics, environmentalism, and the clerical sexual abuse crisis.

Presenting an illuminating account of the global, historical, and cultural phenomena of Catholicism, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Catholicism, Second Edition, is the ideal textbook for classes on Catholicism and Catholic theology in Catholic, Protestant, and non-confessional colleges and universities. It is also an invaluable resource for scholars and general readers interested in broadening their knowledge of Catholicism.

About the Author

FREDERICK C. BAUERSCHMIDT is Professor of Theology at Loyola University Maryland and a Deacon of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. He has published more than 50 essays in academic journals and books and is the author of seven books, including The Essential Summa Theologiae: A Reader and Commentary and The Love That is God: An Invitation to Christian Faith.

JAMES J. BUCKLEY is Professor Emeritus of Theology at Loyola University Maryland. His articles have appeared in Modern Theology, Pro Ecclesia, Theological Studies, The Thomist, and other journals. He is the co-author (with Frederick Bauerschmidt) of Catholic Theology. An Introduction and the co-editor of several volumes in the Pro Ecclesia series.

JENNIFER NEWSOME MARTIN is Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame in the Department of Theology and the Program of Liberal Studies. She is the author of Hans Urs von Balthasar and the Critical Appropriation of Russian Religious Thought. Her work has appeared in Modern Theology, Communio: International Catholic Review, and International Journal of Systematic Theology.

TRENT POMPLUN is Associate Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of Jesuit on the Roof of the World: Ippolito Desideri's Mission to Tibet, as well as academic articles published in journals such as Modern Theology, Nova et Vetera, Journal of Religion, and History of Religions.