ABSTRACT

This book examines the economy of contemporary Catholic monasticism from a sociological perspective, considering the ways in which monasteries engage with the capitalist world economy via a model which aims less at ‘performance’ per se, than at the fulfilment of human and religious values.

Based on fieldwork across several countries in Europe, Africa and South America, it explores not only the daily work and economy in monastic communities in their tensions with religious life, but also the new interest from society in monastic products or monastic management. With attention to present trends in monastic economy, including the growth of ecology and the role of monasteries in the social and economic development of their localities, the author demonstrates that monastic economy consists not solely in the subsistence of religious communities outside the world, but in economic activity that has a real impact on its local or even more global environment, in part through transnational networks of monasteries.

As such, Contemporary Monastic Economy: A Sociological Perspective will appeal to scholars of religious studies and sociology with interests in contemporary monasticism.

chapter |4 pages

Introduction

chapter 2|18 pages

Models of monastic economy

Organisation and sources of revenue

chapter 3|17 pages

Work and prayer in monastic life

chapter 4|32 pages

Integration of economic activity into monastic life

Tensions and solutions

chapter 5|24 pages

Daily life economy

What does monastic poverty mean today?

chapter 6|15 pages

Specificities of female monasteries

chapter |4 pages

Conclusion