This work examines aspects of a religious education program published by Paulist Press in the 1960s and 1970s, the Come to the Father series. This is the only study of this major catechetical series. The author examines the interpretation of the Bible in a confessional setting, and explores the history of the modern catechetical renewal in Canada and beyond. The author also critiques the way in which the Come to the Father series exploits the reader's experience in its interpretation of the Bible.

"We have always valued Father McBride's contributions to religious education. . . . Through his faith and writings he has touched the souls of thousands of people throughout this country and beyond. His work and recognition bring honor to all of us." —Rev. James Herring, O. Praem. "Fr. McBride's life is a witness to his commitment to insure that the Catholic tradition is faithfully handed on in a systematic and comprehensive fashion. —Thomas P. Walters, Ph.D., Father Alfred McBride, O. Praem has been one of the leading Catholic educators and catechists since the second Vatican Council. Perhaps most well-known for his popular Teen Catechism, Father McBride has authored more than dozen books on the faith, helping Catholics the world over learn more about the Christ and his teachings. Now, learn more about Father McBride in his own words. From his days as an adopted boy on the tough streets of Philadelphia to his time in the seminary to his early days as a Norbertine teacher to his rise to prominent and respected Catholic educator. All I Own I Owe is the engaging autobiography of Father McBride, but it also offers a look at the Catholic Church in America throughout the twentieth century and in the twenty-first: from the Catholic neighborhoods of war time Philadelphia to the implementation of Vatican II to the teaching of Christ’s Word today. Supplemented with more than twenty-full color photographs that follow the fascinating life of Father McBride.

Following the Second Vatican Council, when each Religious Institute was encouraged to research its charism, some Institutes experienced a tension between their charism and their mission, or even difficulty identifying what their charism was. This book is a study of the theological understanding of charism and of mission in relation to Religious Life within the Catholic Church. While this topic has featured in much Roman Catholic theological literature since Vatican II, there appears to be a dearth of in-depth studies. This book addresses this apparent lacuna. It draws particularly on the work of two major theologians, Jean-Marie Roger Tillard OP and Sandra Marie Schneiders IHM, who have reflected at length on charism and mission in the period leading up to Vatican II and on the implementation of its documents with respect to Religious Life. The very significant contributions of Tillard and Schneiders on the topic provide Religious, as well as others who want to know and understand Religious Life, with an interesting and motivating insight into charism and mission in Religious Life. Within the Roman Catholic Church, a “Year of Consecrated Life” has just drawn to a close, and this book forms a background and a response to Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter to “all Consecrated People on the occasion of the Year of Consecrated Life” (November 2014), which invited Religious to reflect on these aspects that are essential to the life they have chosen to live.

Because society is increasingly secular, it may seem irrelevant to consider the psychology of religion. But the diversity of our multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society in fact makes religion more important to the social sciences than it has ever been before. What are the social consequences of religion? Every day the news is full of events that can be blamed on religion perpetrated by a range of groups from whole societies to individuals. Beit-Hallami and Argyle are renowned for their clear, analytical approach to topics and this new, state-of-the-art study of psychology and religion is no exception. It will be welcomed as an update to their previous work in the area by social psychologists, sociologists and theologians worldwide.

In Life in Freedom Michael Amaladoss analyzes the many rich and complex strands of Asian religious thought on the notion and nature of the path toward liberation. As he shows, Asian "liberation theology" departs significantly from the Latin American model, with which it is commonly compared. Rather than put primary emphasis on economic issues, Asian cultures give much greater priority to the role of religion in the composition of a healthy society. In Part One Amaladoss discusses current liberation movements and thought in Korea, the Philippines, and India. In two other chapters, he shows also that the awakening of women is integral to the search for human freedom and development and the growing importance sound ecological policies in any valid approach to liberation in Asia. In Part Two Amaladoss discusses non-Christian approaches to human liberation and freedom, showing how the lives and thought of influential figures of other faiths have given distinctive shape to Asian approaches to liberation. Buddhists such as Thich Nhat Hanh and Hindus such as Mahatma Gandhi and E.V. Ramaswamy show that hostility to religion is remote from the most characteristic Asian liberation movements. Gandhi's entire politics was rooted in the notion that "to attain Truth or to realize God is the goal of human life." But God [for Gandhi] is realized concretely in the world and particularly in other people. Service to others then becomes a way to God and ultimately to human liberation. Similarly, Confucian traditions embody a deeply indigenous, Asian way of constructing reality as a sacred whole. In that construct, liberation and freedom take on meanings and dimensions functionally religious in the way they anchor individuals and the community to the cosmic whole. In Part Three, Amaladoss gives his own analysis and prophetic overview on how the plurality of images of liberation enriches the possibility for interreligious cooperation in overcoming the forces of oppression in Asia.

In the decades following the Second World War, North America and Western Europe experienced widespread secularization and dechristianization; many scholars have pinpointed the 1960s as a pivotally important period in this decline. The Sixties and Beyond examines the scope and significance of dechristianization in the western world between 1945 and 2000. A thematically wide-ranging and interdisciplinary collection, The Sixties and Beyond uses a framework that compares the social and cultural experiences of North America and Western Europe during this period. The internationally based contributors examine the dynamic place of Christianity in both private lives and public discourses and practices by assessing issues such as gender relations, family life, religious education, the changing relationship of church and state, and the internal dynamics of religious organizations. The Sixties and Beyond is an excellent contribution to the burgeoning scholarship on the 1960s as well as to the history of Christianity in the western world.

Posting the Word recounts the origins of Life Light Home Study Courses – a distance learning organization for biblical and theological study for Catholic lay people.