FC 6356: Faith and Economics

This course aims to equip students to identify issues of economic justice, and then define effective paths of proper conduct and just action. In this sense, the course has two objectives. The first is to develop a broader vision and deeper understanding of economic justice issues in America. The second is more practical; it is to put students within case-study situations where they must confront the complexities of economic justice and attempt to devise effective action plans. Three sources provide the motivation for this course. First, many people of faith are deeply aware of the economic injustices that exist in American society. By better understanding the Catholic Church’s social justice teachings, and also the objectives and proper workings of the market economy, a deeper framework will emerge for addressing economic justice issues within the American culture. A second motivation comes from the intensifying cycle of economic scandal which has inflicted the American economy from 1987-present. This course will provide a diagnosis of this cycle, and how this points to new frontiers for economic justice activism. The final motivation involves a perception that people of faith often enter their professional lives unprepared for the tensions they will encounter. This course aims to provide students with an opportunity to prepare for such conflicts between their faith and their work life.