Review
A Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2007 “This contribution to the Blackwell Companions in Religion series is an excellent addition. It is not intended as a tool to answer general questions about the Catholic church but will find a home on many academic and priestly shelves. It should also be found on the shelves of any library attempting to cover theology and religion, especially those in non-Roman Catholic traditions seeking to provide a comprehensive and competent resource for those carrying out serious research for either personal or academic purposes.” Reference Reviews
"The editors have assembled veterans of the study of Catholicism from institutions worldwide to provide probably the best single-volume introduction to the subject currently available. Thirty-three topics are split among four sections: histories, cultures, doctrines, and practices. Necessarily the contributors have had to be very selective in covering their respective areas, but readers will come away knowing a great deal about the church, its history, and life. The writing is exceptionally clear and blessedly error-free ... Essential." CHOICE
“The Companion aims for, and achieves, comprehensiveness: it is rare to find in one place so many snapshots of that vast, bordered but messily unfenced world we call Catholicism … learned, succinct and engaging.” The Way
"This is a very useful collection for those who wish to broaden and deepen their understanding of Catholioism." Expository Times
Book Description
The Blackwell Companion to Catholicism offers an extensive survey of the history, doctrine, practices, and global circumstances of Roman Catholicism by a range of distinguished and experienced Catholic writers. The volume seeks to engage its readers in an intellectual and informative conversation about Roman Catholic life and thought. The Companion is based on three premises. The first is that Catholic life and thought are centrally theological, although the views of philosophers, cultural critics, sociologists, historians, and lay and religious activists are also represented. The second is that Catholic life and thought are diverse, embracing the local and the global, the past and the present, life and the afterlife, as well as a broad range of institutions and activities. Finally, the volume presupposes that, while Catholic life and thought are irreducibly distinctive, they also overlap with and transform other ways of living and thinking.
