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Catholic Social Thought

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Business and Professional Ethics

Synonyms

Catholic Social Doctrine; Catholic Social Thought; Catholicism on social morality; Social teachings of the Roman Catholic Church

Definition

Catholic Social Thought (CSTh) refers to the reflection developed by Catholic thinkers, theologians, and other scholars on social life and specific social issues, as well as the ideas, proposals, and the experience of Catholic people involved in social issues.

Central to this thought is Catholic Social Teaching (CST) or Social Doctrine of the Church, formulated by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church and expressed in councils, papal encyclical-letters, bishops’ pastoral letters, and other documents. John Paul II has defined CST as “the accurate formulation of the results of a careful reflection on the complex realities of human existence, in society and in the international order, in the light of faith and of the Church’s tradition” (John Paul II 1981, no. 41).

CST includes values and virtues for social life, along with ethical...

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References

Main Pontifical CST Documents*

  • Benedict XVI (2009) Encyclical Letter ‘Caritas in Veritate’ on love in truth

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  • Francis (2015) Encyclical-Letter ‘Laudato si’, on the Catholic vision of ecology

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  • John Paul II (1981) Encyclical-Letter ‘Laborem Exercerns’ on human work

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  • John Paul II (1987) Encyclical-Letter ‘Sollicitudo rei socialis’ on human development

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  • John Paul II (1991) Encyclical-Letter ‘Centesimus annus’ on economy and society

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  • John XXIII (1961) Encyclical-Letter ‘Mater et Magistra’ on the socio-economic order

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  • John XXIII (1963) Encyclical-Letter ‘Pacem in Terris’ on human rights and peace

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  • Leo XIII (1891) Encyclical-Letter ‘Rerum Novarum’ on the human labor

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  • Paul VI (1967) Encyclical-Letter ‘Populorum Progressio’ on the development of people

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  • Paul VI (1972) Apost. Letter ‘Octogesima Adveniens’ on ideologies and social problems

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  • Pius XI (1931) Encyclical Letter ‘Quadragesimo Anno’ on socio-economic life

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  • Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (2004) Compendium of the social doctrine of the church. Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano

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  • Vatican Council II (1965) Pastoral Constitution ‘Gaudium et Spes’ on the Church in modern world

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  • *Available at vatican.va

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Additional Reading

  • Abela AV (2001) Profit and more: Catholic social teaching and the purpose of the firm. J Bus Ethics 31(2):107–116

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  • Arroyo G (2003) Catholic ethical resources for business and the economy. Lat Am Bus Rev 4(4):95–103

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  • Cortright SA, Naugthon M (eds) (2002) Rethinking the purpose of business. Interdisciplinary essays from the Catholic social tradition. Notre Dame University Press, Notre Dame

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  • Cornwall JR, Naughton MJ (2003) Who is the good entrepreneur? An exploration within the Catholic social tradition. J Bus Ethics 44(1/2):61–75

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  • Finn D (2012) Human work in Catholic social thought. Am J Econ Sociol 71(4):874–885

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  • Laczniak GR (1999) Distributive justice, Catholic social teaching, and the moral responsibility of marketers. J Public Policy Market 18(1):125–129

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  • Kohls J, Christensen SL (2002) The business responsibility for wealth distribution in a globalized political-economy: merging moral economics and Catholic social teaching. J Bus Ethics 35(3):223–234

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  • McCarthy DM (ed) (2009) The heart of Catholic social teaching: its origins and contemporary significance. Brazos Press, Grand Rapids

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  • Melé D, Dierksmeier C (eds) (2012) Human development in business. Values and humanistic management in the in the encyclical “caritas in Veritate”. Palgrave Macmillan, New York

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  • Melé D, Schlag M (eds) (2015) Humanism in economics and business. Perspectives of the Catholic social tradition. Springer, Dordrecht/Heidelberg

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  • Melé D, Alford H, Guitián GMN, Porras A, Moreno A (2017) Catholic social teaching. In: Sison AJG, Beabout GR, Ferrero I (eds) Handbook of virtue ethics in business and management, Part IV, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 151–220

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  • PCJP (Pontificium Consilium Justice and Peace) (2012) Vocation of the Business Leader. A Reflection. Available at www.iustitiaetpax.va

  • Sandelands L (2009) The business of business is the human person: lessons from the Catholic social tradition. J Bus Ethics 85(1):93–101

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  • Schlag M (ed) (2017) Handbook of Catholic social teaching: a guide for Christians in the world today. Catholic University of America Press, Washington

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  • Schlag M (2017) The business Francis means: understanding the Pope’s message on the economy. Catholic University of America Press, Washington

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  • Steinfels P (1988) From Adam smith to the American Catholic bishops: debating visions of economic life. J Bus Ethics 7(6):405–411

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  • Turkson PKA (2018) Pope Francis’ Integral Human Development: an Inclusive Growth Proposal. Humanistic Manag J 2(2):199–209

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chair Business Ethics, IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Barcelona Campus, Spain

    Domènec Melé

Authors
  1. Domènec Melé
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Correspondence to Domènec Melé .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Deborah C Poff

  2. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Alex C. Michalos

Section Editor information

  1. Chair Business Ethics, IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Barcelona, Spain

    Domènec Melé

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Melé, D. (2018). Catholic Social Thought. In: Poff, D., Michalos, A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Business and Professional Ethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23514-1_248-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23514-1_248-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-23514-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-23514-1

  • eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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