Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought, Social Science, and Social Policy

Michael L. Coulter, Ph.D., is professor of political science and humanities at Grove City College. He has contributed to Perspectives on Political Science, The Journal of Markets and Morality, Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court, Family in America, and Encyclopedia of American Religion and Politics.Richard S. Myers is professor of law at Ave Maria School of Law. He is co-editor of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Natural Law Tradition: Contemporary Perspectives. He has published extensively on constitutional law, including articles in the law reviews of Ave Maria School of Law, Catholic University, Notre Dame, and Washington & Lee. He is the Vice-President of University Faculty for Life and the Executive Secretary of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists.Joseph A. Varacalli, Ph.D., is S.U.N.Y. Distinguished Service Professor and Director of the Center for Catholic Studies at Nassau Community College-S.U.N.Y. Co-founder of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists, his most recent book publications are The Catholic Experience in America and Bright Promise, Failed Community: Catholics and the American Public Order (Lexington, 2001).

Following Volumes 1 and 2, which were released in 2007, this book aims to fill informational gaps and explicate the Church’s perspective on new controversies, including scientific advances and related moral concerns. Coulter (Family in America), Richard S. Myers (Thomas Aquinas), and Joseph A. Varacalli (Bright Promise) gather the research of nearly 120 field specialists. Also covered in the alphabetically organized, multiparagraph entries are figures who have shaped or opposed Catholic social thought, such as Albert Camus and Richard Dawkins. VERDICT Occasionally, subtle editorializing accompanies explanations of Church perspective. Otherwise, this is a valuable, accessible guide to Church principles as they relate to specific issues and people.