Catholic social scientists are gathering near Cleveland this weekend for a conference on topics that blend Catholic theology and social teachings with the academic work in their various disciplines.
The Society of Catholic Social Scientists (SCSS), founded in 1992 by political scientist Stephen M. Krason, will hold its 34th National Meeting on Oct. 23–24 at John Carroll University, located in University Heights, Ohio, a suburb east of Cleveland.
Ahead of the conference, Krason — professor emeritus of political science at Franciscan University of Steubenville — told EWTN News a primary goal of SCSS is to “bring Catholic teaching and a Catholic understanding and a Catholic worldview to the work they do in their disciplines.”
Conference talks will include discussions on hot-button issues such as artificial intelligence (AI), immigration policy, just war doctrine, and euthanasia. There are also discussions about Catholic history in the United States, in conjunction with the 250th anniversary of the founders signing the Declaration of Independence.
According to SCSS’ website, the organization seeks to follow St. John XXIII’s instruction in his encyclical Mater et Magistra for Christians to “conform their behavior in economic and social affairs to the teachings of the Church.”
Krason said SCSS reaches out to members ahead of the conference for proposals on papers, which constitute the subject of the talk and are often submitted to SCSS’ scholarly journal, the Catholic Social Science Review (CSSR).
To be a full member, Krason said, “you have to sign a profession of faith [that] you accept the Church’s teachings” and noted that people come to the organization “looking for a solid orthodox Catholic organization.” Before the talks, papers are reviewed to ensure faithfulness to Catholic teaching, though he said this is typically not an issue for members.
Krason said most presenters are SCSS members, but sometimes a few are not. He said SCSS also accepts associate members who are not Catholic. They also accept student members who are working toward their master’s degrees.
The organization, which states that its programs are designed to reflect views “compatible with Catholic orthodoxy,” welcomes scholars from various social sciences, including political science, economics, history, psychology, sociology, counseling, and law, among others.
Upcoming conference
Scholars will discuss a broad range of topics. Krason noted that topics are decided based on the submissions, but the conference is not built around specific themes.
One topic is Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, which focuses on AI and other elements of Catholic social teaching. The talks will discuss concerns about human dignity, along with an Augustinian approach to concerns about transhumanism — a movement to blend humanity and machine.
The conference includes talks about immigration, in light of President Donald Trump’s policy of mass deportations. This includes discussions about balancing national sovereignty and human dignity and the social impact of migration.
Other talks delve into political theory and the subjects of natural law and labor, as well as a Thomistic analysis of usury and modern banking. A few talks are focused on the American South, including one about the principle of subsidiarity in Catholic social teaching and the political theory of John C. Calhoun, who favored strong decentralization of government.
There are talks on just war doctrine, one of which looks into the approaches of various popes in the 20th and 21st centuries.
The organization will also give out the Blessed Frederic Ozanam Award for Catholic Social Action, which will be received by Clark Massey, founder of A Simple House, which is a missionary organization.
Another award, the Pope Pius XI Award for Contributions Toward the Building Up of a True Catholic Social Science, will be given to Notre Dame political scientist and author Patrick J. Deneen.
Deneen told EWTN News he’s “honored to receive” the award and “grateful for the existence and work of the SCSS in fostering and advancing a true science of social phenomena.”
“Those who work in the largely disfavored school of Catholic social science understand that its object of study is neither the determined and unfree entities studied by natural science, nor the infinitely malleable substances that modern technology claims to command, but creatures — men and women — who are simultaneously free and subject to natural laws not of our making,” Deneen said.
“A true social science recognizes that we are most free when we acknowledge and follow those laws within even the wide boundaries they establish,” he said. “How much healthier our society would be if more of our social science began with these premises, and suffused our social and political order with its findings.”
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