At a time characterized by extreme polarization, alienation, and gridlock we need the wisdom of the Catholic tradition about political life more than ever. Where can we find it?
There are very few academic institutions where a student interested in a career as a scholar and teacher can acquire a deep understanding and firm grounding in the Catholic tradition of political thought. So what better place to start such a program than at the national university of the Catholic Church, The Catholic University of America? We have pontifical faculties of theology and philosophy and a department of politics. Between these three faculties and their members, we are creating a place where students can acquire the tradition, scholars can extend and apply it, and the general public can look for it.
The centrality of conscience, the common good, subsidiarity, human dignity, human rights, and limited government: these are central values of the Western political tradition and were decisively shaped by the Catholic faith. The Program in Catholic Political Thought at CUA’s Institute for Human Ecology aims to make these ideas available to students in their original sources and with the aid of scholars committed to the truth.
Interdisciplinary Work, Academic Excellence
The Program draws on resources across the University to provide doctoral students with the means to acquire a comprehensive knowledge of the tradition of Catholic political thought by:
- Serving as a clearing house for information about the study of political ideas at Catholic University
- Sponsoring lectures and colloquia both for faculty and students within the University and faculty and students from other universities who would contribute to and benefit from our resources
- Encouraging and assisting faculty in carrying out and disseminating their scholarship in both academic and other public forums
Program Leadership
Events
John Courtney Murray Dinners
Hosted by the IHE’s Program on Catholic Political Thought, the John Courtney Murray Dinners take their inspiration from a Washington institution inaugurated by the late Michael Novak. Bringing together a community of scholars in the Washington, D.C. area, these dinners are an occasion for conversation about the deepest challenges that face us in life, society, and politics — drawing on the wide engagement with modernity exemplified by John Courtney Murray, S.J.
Catholic Political Thought Scholars
