Introduction to Catholic Social Teaching

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

The goal of this course is to familiarize students with the rich tradition of Catholic social teaching in order to develop skills for critical reading and appropriation of this canon of magisterial documents. Students will examine papal, conciliar, and episcopal texts from Rerum novarum (1891) up to the present time, identifying operative principles, tracing central theological, ethical, and ecclesial concerns, and locating each document within its proper historical context. Students will hold recurring themes in conversation with the broader theoretical framework of Catholic social thought and relevant secondary literature. Finally, students will examine some foundational topics in the early weeks of this course, such as the Biblical roots of CST, its natural law underpinnings, and its ecclesiological influences.