As you might know, I gave a keynote address (shared with Cardinal Blaise Cupich) this summer at a Catholic climate change conference co-sponsored by Creighton University and the Catholic Climate Covenant. That address, “Responding to the Invitation: Fostering a Bolder Response to Laudato Si’,” has just been published in the Journal of Moral Theology. This was a great conference that generated a lot of needed momentum on responding to climate change. Please share the address with those looking to understand some of the obstacles to Catholic engagement in the climate change issue as well as some ways we might foment a more robust Catholic engagement here.
I’m happy to share with you Dr. Jane Curry’s positive review of my latest book in Reading Religion, a book review publication for the American Academy of Religion. Curry currently teaches at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale and has much to say on the ways the findings caused her to reflect on her own teaching; she goes on to also discuss the insights the book offers to ministers and Church leaders. She ends her review by noting some of the major themes in the book:
“[T]he book inspires approaches that help people challenge structured inequalities, motivates readers to explore the implications of Christian individualism contextually, and emphasizes the power of hope, community, and compassion within this journey.”
Important themes for understanding Catholic engagement as well as human life more broadly. I hope you enjoy the read!
This summer I went on an amazing 10,550-mile road trip to connect with loved ones after the pandemic. I talk about how my experiences helped me reflect on hope in “Pandemic Pilgrimage: What a Cross-Country Road Trip Taught Me About Hope” in America. May it give you some ideas (and cautionary lessons for rural driving!) for your next trip as well as some new eyes for the everyday.
Lucas Sharma, graduate student at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, has offered an insightful review of Catholic Activism Today in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion; thanks to Sharma for his time in this! I appreciated two of the book’s takeaways that Sharma identified: the way contemporary Catholics are bringing their faith and citizenship together in public life and the complex ways individuals, meso-level institutions (like parishes), and the Catholic hierarchy interact with one another. Sharma closes by identifying the multiple audiences that would find this book useful:
In conclusion, Day should be commended for an excellent book that contributes to a great legacy of Catholic sociology of religion. At the same time, the findings and questions raised above suggest that Catholic Activism Today could be helpful not just for sociologists, but for pastoral programs, church planning offices, seminaries, and schools of theology and ministry across the country.
My thanks go out to Dr. Peter Baltutis, Associate Professor of History and Religious Studies at St. Mary’s University in Calgary, Canada, for his generous review of my latest book. Dr. Baltutis and I have several overlapping interests that are explored in the book–including Modern Catholicism, Catholic social teaching and service learning–so it was truly affirming to read his positive assessment of Catholic Activism Today in Studies in Religion / Sciences Religieuses. Here are some excerpts of the review:
More than a narrow study of one faith-based organization, Day effectively uses JFM to draw some important conclusions about the strengths and weaknesses of this new discipleship style and the implications that it has for the contemporary Catholic Church… Day’s thought-provoking study of the emergent discipleship style of American public Catholicism is most helpful to scholars seeking to understand contemporary Catholic life and the newest wave of Catholic civic engagement.
I’m excited to share with you a review of my newest book that just came out in Sociology of Religion. My thanks go out in particular to the reviewer, Audra Dugandzic, who is working on her PhD in sociology at the University of Notre Dame; her comments, criticisms and praise are appreciated! Here is the final paragraph of Dugandzic’s review:
Day’s in-depth portrait of JustFaith Ministries serves as an illuminating case for anyone interested in civic engagement, religious or not, especially in the tensions between justice and charity. For sociologists and theologians alike, Day also offers thought-provoking discussion about the role of the Catholic Church in the American public square.
The Commission on the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition has published my post, “Contemplating the Trinity: A Lenten Exercise” on their blog. It is a reflection on the prayer that concludes St. Francis’s “A Letter to the Entire Order,” which offers much to contemplate in this season of Lent. Enjoy!
My blogpost for Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs came out today. My post, “Catholics and American Public Life: Problems and Possibilities,” discusses two Catholic experiences in American public life, and the challenges and opportunities Church leaders face as they attempt to articulate a more robust public Catholicism. My post was part of a larger collection that explores the election of Joe Biden and Catholicism in U.S. Politics. I’d definitely encourage those interested in learning more about American Catholic public life to read the whole series as they are very well-written pieces.
The newest issue of The Way of St. Francis has just come out and in it you can read my reflection on experiencing Lent during a pandemic. I draw upon the scholarship of medieval historian Bert Roest and his analysis of the eremitical tradition and the life of the Order. I use this to consider the ways the our own homes can act as a hermitage in this season of Lent (and our lives more broadly). You can read my piece, “Entering Lent From a Hermitage,” here.
Co-authored with Barbara McCrabb of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, our new article on successfully integrating professional campus ministers with missionaries is out. The article, Integrating Ministerial Visions: Lessons from Campus Ministry, is available through Religions. It is based on an analysis of a national survey and qualitative study of Catholic campus ministers as well as the work of a task force specially commissioned to offer guidelines and a process for campuses seeking to integrate professional ministers with a missionary team. The article is also forthcoming in a special issue containing some of the most recent and timely studies of Catholic youth and young adult ministry, so be sure to grab the whole issue if that is your area of research or ministry. Here is the abstract for the article:
In recent years, colleges and universities have seen an increase in a relatively new model of Catholic campus ministry: missionary organizations. As these missionaries grow in number, there is also an increase in the number of campuses that simultaneously use missionaries and long-term, professional ministers with graduate degrees. Drawing upon two national studies of Catholic campus ministers and the work of a national task force, this article will illuminate the obstacles these blended teams face in crafting a more holistic engagement with the Catholic tradition. It will also outline the steps to promote a more integrated ministerial vision and to become more pastorally effective. Implications for ministry more broadly are discussed.
Maureen K. Day, Ph.D. 