About the Author

J. Brian Benestad is professor of theology at the University of Scranton and the author of numerous book chapters and journal articles published on Catholic social doctrine. He is editor of Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Quarterly.

Reviews

Professor Benestad treats complicated issues with subtlety and yet at the same time offers a broad and comprehensible introduction from which an interested reader, whether in the classroom or not, can profit wonderfully. . .Church, State, and Society is the best introduction to Catholic social doctrine I have encountered, and it is well worth the investment." —Nova et Vetera

"Against the backdrop of cacophonous disputes about the meaning and application of Catholic Social Doctrine, Brian Benestad has presented a magisterial work of considerable extent and admirable clarity. . . Benestad's book provides a great service to those trying to understand Catholic Social Doctrine. His erudition and his care in making key distinctions are essential to understand such a complex body of doctrine. He subtly charts a course through the minefields of contemporary arguments about Catholic Social Doctrine, getting to the theoretical source of these disagreements: the relation of Catholic Social Doctrine to both the Church's older tradition of political reflection and the new forms of political thought and practice that modernity originates. . . In short, Benestad's excellent volume is the best treatment of Catholic Social Doctrine as a whole and a precious reminder of the intrinsically problematic character of modern democracy." —Perspectives on Political Science