Lanterna Rally

Author: Maureen K. Day

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 810

ISBN-13:

This dissertation studies a Catholic organization involved in social mission, JustFaith Ministries (JFM), to better understand themes in contemporary Catholic civic engagement more broadly. Based on Louisville, Kentuck, JFM designs social justice curricula to bring Christians, especially Catholics, across the United States to help alleviate poverty and related problems. Churches use JFM curricula to create small groups that gather for prayer, ritual, immersion experiences and discussion of assigned readings. Styles of Catholic involvement in the public sphere have varied with Catholics' socio-historical circumstances. Today many Catholic civic organizations exemplify what I call a "disciple style." After a brief overview of Catholicism in American public life historically, this dissertation discusses the development of JFM. It also highlights major elements of JFM's organizational culture that are critical to understanding its mission and identity, with close attention paid to the core values: transformation, Christ-centered, community, justice and compassion. This culture is not unique to JFM and animates many contemporary Catholic organizations. JFM seeks to transform the participants, causing them to shift poverty from a peripheral concern to one that is central, hoping that these transformed individuals will transform society. The organization hopes their participants become more Christ-centered, which entails making their faith the primary part of their life in a "theology of pragmatic reverence." As organizations of the discipleship style meet frequently in small groups for faith formation, community is critical to the maintenance of the groups' values. All discipleship organizations engage in some sort of outreach. JFM is unusual among discipleship organizations in that it explicitly pursues a justice-based style of engagement, as opposed to more common forms of charity and one-on-one service provision. Finally, JFM wants participants to become more compassionate through the new knowledge and experience they gain through the program. The broader implications for American Catholic civic engagement are discussed.