Search

1. Psychological and Theological Aspects 1.1. The term “trust” proves, especially since E. Erikson’s (1902–94) creation of the concept of “primal trust” (Ego Psychology; Identity), to be a mechanism for reducing both social (N. Luhmann) and theological complexity. It describes “the basic process between man and God. Man’s relationship to God stands and falls therefore with trust in God” (E. Jüngel, 196). As a central category of theological anthropology, it is based on the psychological idea that the…

¶ The word “pluralism” (from Lat. pluralis) refers to the presence, in any given setting, of a multiplicity of competing cultures, viewpoints, economic interests, religious perspectives, philosophical opinions, and the like. In such usages the word is a near synonym for “diversity.” “Pluralism” can also mean the advocacy or defense of diversity as a matter of principle, as when pluralism is contrasted with terms such as “exclusivism” or “inclusivism” in regard to religious faiths other than one’s own…

1. The movement of worker-priests (prêtres-ouvriers) arose in France in 1943 in connection with the process of secularization, which was pushing Christianity into the private sphere, and the development of a working class that, under the influence of Marxism, regarded the church as a capitalistic and bourgeois institution. Paternalistic ideas could not bridge the deep cleft between the proletariat and the church. Based upon a programmatic approach to pastoral care in a social setting (Catholic Action), the Jeunesse Ouvrière Chrétienne (JOC, Young Christian…