Protestant Social Teaching

Chronological snobbery, rejecting one-size-fits-all ethics, ethical quietism and open casket funerals in Derry Girls

Over 150 years the Catholic Church has built up a body of ethical doctrine commonly known as Catholic Social Teaching, which applies Catholic theology to wider social concerns, covering everything from labour relations to contraception. In this episode we are joined by Rhys Laverty from the Davenant Institute to discuss their new book Protestant Social Teaching, an attempt to scour the history of Protestant thought and establish a reformed version of CST. Why have evangelicals been so behind the curve when it comes to thoughtfully applying church and Biblical tradition to the social concerns of the day? Is there merit in perusing the writings of long dead believers when thinking about 21st century ethics? And how would any kind of Protestant Social Teaching differ or agree with its Catholic counterpart?

Resuming our conversation with Rhys Laverty from the Davenant Institute, we look at John’s contribution to the Protestant Social Teaching book – a chapter exploring post-Reformation tradition around death and dying. What might medieval and early modern approaches to the end of life be able to teach us modern Christians about how to die well? How was the hospice movement inspired by this, and how has it lost its way amid debates over assisted suicide? And what can the Protestant Church do if it wishes to renew its interest and investment in ethics and social teaching?

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