Reclaiming American Catholicism Faith, Politics, and the Future of the Catholic Church
Product details
Biographical note
John Gehring is the author of The Francis Effect: A Radical Pope's Challenge to the American Catholic Church (2015). He has contributed to America, National Catholic Reporter, The New York Times, and the Washington Post.
A rich portrait of American Catholicism at a crossroads between crisis and opportunity
The most vocal leaders in the U.S. Catholic hierarchy today embrace a culture-war Catholicism.
Reclaiming American Catholicism makes the argument that recalibrating the Church's engagement with politics and public life is vital for both the Church and the country. Gehring illuminates the Church that Pope Francis envisioned—"bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets"—through stories of Catholic advocates working on the border, young Catholics who question Church teachings but are active in social justice campaigns, LGBTQ+ Catholics within a Church that does not accept their full humanity, and seminarians who work in the fields with migrants as part of their religious formation.
This book offers a hopeful vision for the Church at a time when the Catholic social justice tradition is more relevant than ever.
Introduction
1. Divided Nation, Divided Church
2. Trump, Catholics & the Moral Perils of Transactional Politics
3. Joe Biden & the Battle over Catholic Identity in Politics
4. Catholic Culture Warriors: Money, Networks & The Long Game
5. Reclaiming A Consistent Ethic of Life
6. Radical Inclusion & Dignity for LGBTQ Catholics
7. A Living Tradition in Transition
Gehring's account of the damage inflicted by culture-war Catholicism is devastating. But his stories of Catholics accompanying those on the margins of society filled me with hope for a revitalized Catholic Church in the United States.
Product details
Biographical note
John Gehring is the author of The Francis Effect: A Radical Pope's Challenge to the American Catholic Church (2015). He has contributed to America, National Catholic Reporter, The New York Times, and the Washington Post.