Department
Seminary/School of Divinity
Date
Summer 8-2019
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Theology (M.A.)
Type of Paper/Work
Thesis
Advisor
Christopher J. Thompson
Second Advisor
William B. Stevenson
Third Advisor
Kenneth D. Snyder
Abstract
This paper examines Laudato si’ and a few of its key themes as they pertain to Christian spirituality and self-awareness. In particular, it focuses on the notion of “ecological conversion,” by which, Pope Francis writes, the person’s encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in her relationship with the world. It is, as already mentioned, an extension of the Catholic moral principle of solidarity to include not just other human beings, but also all of God’s creatures, who belong to one ontological family. But more than just a new development in the Church’s body of social teaching, ecological conversion has profound implications for Christian spirituality because it proposes a re-fashioning of the person’s most deeply held convictions about God, creation, and herself. Its particular relevance is the present “technocratic paradigm,” which Pope Francis names as one of the root causes of the ecological crisis. Ecological conversion is, for men and women who have been instructed by technocracy, a path of conversion and deep interior renewal.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Spangenberg, Sarah L., ""Laudato si' and the call to ecological conversion: implications for Christian spirituality in a technocratic age"" (2019). School of Divinity Master’s Theses and Projects. 22.
https://ir.stthomas.edu/sod_mat/22
Included in
Catholic Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, Religious Education Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons