Democracy and Catholicism in America
Type
Book
Authors
Category
Catholic Church in the USA
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Publication Year
1958
Publisher
McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., United States
Pages
310
Description
Are the teachings of the Catholic Church necessarily in opposition to the democratic nature of the American way of life? An answer to Paul Blanshard's American Freedom and Catholic Power, this incisive critique explores a practical problem familiar to anyone active in the affairs of any association - whether it be a community service club, local union, political party, or PTA chapter.
In part, this book is concerned with a kind of group decision-making familiar to most Americans - the group decision-making process called Democracy. It also deals with religion, or at least one denomination of religion - Catholicism.
The author is neither "pro-Catholic" nor "anti-Catholic" and thus he neither praises nor condemns the Catholic Church or its teachings. Instead, he approaches the subject from the standpoint of a person committed to the Democratic principles - popular sovereignty, political equality, and majority rule, and endeavors to make clear what the actual relationship is between these Democratic beliefs and the teachings of the Church of Rome.
He argues that there is no necessarily incompatibility between Democracy and Catholicism - nor, on the other hand, is there any necessary connection between the two. To clarify his argument, the author discusses in some detail those liberal beliefs and principles which both the Catholic and the Democrat reject.
The Author
Currin Shields has had extensive and varied experience in practical politics as: President of a Democratic club, Chairman of a congressional district Democratic council, Member of the Political Action Committee of the California Democratic Council, and Delegate to many party conventions. He is currently a member of the Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee, an elective party office.
He has served in various capacities in school board, councilmanic, mayoralty, assembly, congressional, and state-wide campaigns in such roles as: organization chairman, finance chairman, speakers' bureau, and campaign committee chairman. In 1954 he was state-wide finance chairman for the campaign committee of the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor; in the 1956 preferential presidential primary, he was a congressional district chairman of the Kefauver Campaign Committee and a member of the Kefauver delegation for the national convention.
The author's professional field is political theory, with "recent thought" claiming most of his attention. In addition to teaching summers at Boston University, University of New Hampshire and University of Wisconsin, the author taught during the regular sessions at Yale University for 4 years before moving to UCLA where he has been since 1950.
Dr. Shields has contributed articles and reviews to numerous journals. He has authored the introductions and edited four Liberal Arts Press volumes. For more than 2 years he conducted a weekly 15 minute radio program called "What's the Issue?", broadcast by Station KFWB (Hollywood).
Taken from the inside flaps.
In part, this book is concerned with a kind of group decision-making familiar to most Americans - the group decision-making process called Democracy. It also deals with religion, or at least one denomination of religion - Catholicism.
The author is neither "pro-Catholic" nor "anti-Catholic" and thus he neither praises nor condemns the Catholic Church or its teachings. Instead, he approaches the subject from the standpoint of a person committed to the Democratic principles - popular sovereignty, political equality, and majority rule, and endeavors to make clear what the actual relationship is between these Democratic beliefs and the teachings of the Church of Rome.
He argues that there is no necessarily incompatibility between Democracy and Catholicism - nor, on the other hand, is there any necessary connection between the two. To clarify his argument, the author discusses in some detail those liberal beliefs and principles which both the Catholic and the Democrat reject.
The Author
Currin Shields has had extensive and varied experience in practical politics as: President of a Democratic club, Chairman of a congressional district Democratic council, Member of the Political Action Committee of the California Democratic Council, and Delegate to many party conventions. He is currently a member of the Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee, an elective party office.
He has served in various capacities in school board, councilmanic, mayoralty, assembly, congressional, and state-wide campaigns in such roles as: organization chairman, finance chairman, speakers' bureau, and campaign committee chairman. In 1954 he was state-wide finance chairman for the campaign committee of the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor; in the 1956 preferential presidential primary, he was a congressional district chairman of the Kefauver Campaign Committee and a member of the Kefauver delegation for the national convention.
The author's professional field is political theory, with "recent thought" claiming most of his attention. In addition to teaching summers at Boston University, University of New Hampshire and University of Wisconsin, the author taught during the regular sessions at Yale University for 4 years before moving to UCLA where he has been since 1950.
Dr. Shields has contributed articles and reviews to numerous journals. He has authored the introductions and edited four Liberal Arts Press volumes. For more than 2 years he conducted a weekly 15 minute radio program called "What's the Issue?", broadcast by Station KFWB (Hollywood).
Taken from the inside flaps.
Number of Copies
1
