Social Analysis: Linking Faith and Justice

by Joe Holland and Peter Henriot

Book Overview

The pastoral circle, or spiral, is a four-step process that opens up dynamics for faith and action. The process--insertion, social analysis, theological reflection, and pastoral planning--can be applied to the life and actions of small Christian communities of all stripes. This is a valuable resource particularly for the animators of smaller groups.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0883444623
• ISBN13: 9780883444627
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Orbis Books
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.3" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

a landmark, if partially dated, presentation of a practical model

When this book was first published, liberation theology was just past its peak in Latin America, and many theologians and others involved in church-based work for social justice were rethinking their models. This book, from the Washington, DC-based "Center of Concern," established the basic tool of the "pastoral circle" which has empowered people from ordinary parish small groups to high-level intellectuals and church officials to move from experience to action in an ordered, prayerful and reflective way. The book is dated now in its consideration of the specific examples in uses from the Cold War era and the period before the global economy was in full power. But parish workers and other teachers can still use this book with great benefit in helping people grow in responding, not reacting, to the call for justice. For those interested in seeing how this model works in practice, explore theological reflection centers such as the Woodstock Center at Georgetown University or, more poignantly, the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection in Zambia, currently directed by this book's co-author, Peter Henriot, SJ.