Catholic Intellectuals and the Challenge of Democracy

Description

In this sweeping volume, Corrin discusses the influences of Cecil and G. K. Chesterton, H. A. Reinhold, Hilaire Belloc, and many others on the development of Catholic social, economic, and political thought, with a special focus on Belloc and Reinhold as representatives of reactionary and progressive positions, respectively. He also provides an in-depth analysis of Catholic Distributists' responses to the labor unrest in Britain prior to World War I and later, in the 1930s, to the tragedy of the Spanish Civil War and the forces of fascism and communism.

Author Bio

Jay P. Corrin is professor of social sciences at Boston University. His book Catholic Intellectuals and the Challenge of Democracy (University of Notre Dame Press, 2002) won the American Catholic Historical Association’s John Gilmary Shea Prize in 2003.

Reviews

“Jay P. Corrin’s new book is a major contribution to the study of Catholic intellectuals and their varying responses to these issues in the century following the French Revolution. Thoroughly researched, the book provides a comprehensive view of the Catholic intellectual scene in Europe and America through the prism of the personalities and events that shaped their thinking. Catholic intellectuals brings to light an important part of Catholic intellectual history that societies like the United States, in which Catholics comprise the largest single religious denomination, should revisit.” —Crisis Magazine,