John Courtney Murray was a Jesuit theologian and prominent American intellectual who was especially known for his efforts to reconcile Catholicism and religious pluralism, religious freedom, and the American political order. His best-known book We Hold These Truths: Catholic Reflections on the American Proposition (Sheed & Ward, 1960) collects a number of his essays on such topics.
Murray is especially known as one of the chief architects and explicators of the Second Vatican Council document on religious freedom, Dignitatis Humanae.
Relevant Readings
On the thought of John Courtney Murray
- The Civic University, by Stephen M. Fields, S.J. First Things 161 (March 2006): 12-15.
- "American Catholics and the State: John Courtney Murray on Catholics in a Pluralistic Democratic Society", by Greg Kalscheur, S.J. America Vol. 191 No. 3, August 2, 2004 -- full text requires subscription).
- Does John Courtney Murray's Defense of Freedom Extend to Economics? An Austrian Perspective. Markets & Morality Vol. 5, No. 2. Fall 2002. The Acton Institute.
- Citizen Murray, by J. Leon Hooper, S.J. Boston College magazine. Winter. 1995.
- Religious Freedom, Truth & American Liberalism: Another Look at John Courtney Murray, by David Schindler. Communio Winter 1994.
- What would John Courtney Murray say? On abortion & euthanasia, by Todd David Whitmore. Commonweal, Oct 7, 1994.
- John Courtney Murray and the American Catholic Experience, by Michael Tortolani. 1993 Lord Acton Essay. The Acton Institute.
- John Courtney Murray, S.J., and Religious Pluralism. Panel discussion on "the formative influence that religion and American political life have on each other" with J. Leon Hooper, S.J., Woodstock fellow and Murray scholar; Os Guinness of the Trinity Forum; and Michael J. Perry of Northwestern University Law School & moderated by Margaret O'Brien Steinfels, editor of Commonweal. Woodstock Report, March 1993, no. 33.
- A Contested Legacy, by James Finn. Book review of John Courtney Murray and the American Civil Conversation, ed. by Robert P. Hunt & Kenneth L. Grasso. First Things 30 (February 1993): 54-57.
- "John Courtney Murray: Reliable Interpreter of Dignitatis Humanae?", by Fr. Brian W. Harrison. Part I Living Tradition No. 33, Jan. 1991.; Part II Living Tradition No. 34, March 1991.;
- An Unfinished Argument:
John Courtney Murray, Dignitatis Humanae and the Catholic Theory of the State, by Professor Kenneth L. Grasso, Department of Political Science, Southwest Texas State University. [Lecture Series].
- Economic Justice for Some? - Is Murray's Discourse Ethic a Serious Alternative to Class Warfare, as an instrument of Public Policy Formation?, by Dennis P. McCann. DePaul University, Chicago, IL.
Excerpts from Books
- Religious Freedom: John Courtney Murray, S.J. and Vatican II, by Francis Canavan, S.J. Faith & Reason Summer 1987.
- We Hold These Truths and More: Further Catholic Reflections on the American Proposition, by Donald D'Elia. Chap. 5 in We Hold These Truths and More: Further Catholic Reflections on the American Proposition The Thought of Fr. John Courtney Murray, S.J. and its Relevance Today. 62-76. Steubenville, OH: Franciscan University Press, 1993.
- The Truths They Held: The Christian and Natural Law Background to the American Constitution, by Robert R. Reilly. Chap. 6 of We Hold These Truths and More: Further Catholic Reflections on the American Proposition. The Thought of Fr. John Courtney Murray, S.J. and its Relevance Today. Edited by J. D'Elia & Stephen M. Krason. Steubenville, OH: Franciscan University Press, 1993.
Relevant Writings (by and about John Courtney Murray)
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We Hold These Truths: Catholic Reflections on the American Proposition Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. (September 2005) The 1960 publication of We Hold These Truths marked a significant event in the history of modern American thought. Since that time, Sheed and Ward has kept the book in print and has published several studies of John Courtney Murray's life and work. We are proud to present a new edition of this classic text, which features a comprehensive introduction by Peter Lawler that places Murray in the context of Catholic and American history and thought while revealing his relevance today.
Book Reviews
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Religious Liberty: Catholic Struggles with Pluralism, by John Courtney Murray and J. Leon Hooper.
Westminster John Knox Press; (June 1993) [From the Publisher:] John Courtney Murray is renowned for his contributions to American ethical debates and well known for his defense of civil religious freedom. He strongly felt that religion should be taught in public schools and universities. Murray had a decisive influence on juridical, political, and social theories. This intriguing volume includes, in addition to two of Murray's most important statements on religious freedom, two essays newly made available to the reading public: one on religious freedom originally suppressed by the Vatican and published here for the first time, and a discussion of human dignity - how it is defined and how it functions as the philosophical foundation of religious freedom - newly translated into English. This fascinating collection will help readers look back at past struggles over religious liberty and forward to dilemmas presently facing the church.
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Bridging the Sacred and the Secular: Selected Writings of John Courtney Murray, edited by J. Leon Hooper.
Georgetown University Press (October 1994) Book Reviews
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The Believer As Citizen: John Courtney Murray in a New Context , by D. Thomas Hughson
Paulist Press (July 1993) [From the Publisher]: In recent years religious leaders of mainline Christian and Jewish groups have been calling on their adherents to play a larger role in the creation of a just social order. One of the most publicized of these was the declaration of the American Catholic bishops, Economic Justice For All. It remains to be seen whether believers raised in an era of affluence are deeply committed to the plight of the needy, and whether religion itself can mark out a path between social activism and conventional party politics. John Courtney Murray (1904-1967) was a pioneer in the ongoing dialogue about the role of believers in public life. For all of his contributions, however, Murray spoke in a patrician manner to a social order that was stable and structured. How useful are his ideas in an age of multiculturalism, when the strongest pressure for justice comes from grassroots organizations of the poor and marginalized? The Believer as Citizen proposes a fresh view of Murray's public philosophy in a way that makes it applicable to today's conditions.
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Catholic and American: The Political Theology of John Courtney Murray, by Thomas P. Ferguson.
Sheed & Ward (July 1, 1993) |
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John Courtney Murray and the American Civil Conversation, edited by Robert P. Hunt and Kenneth L. Grasso.
Eerdmans Pub Co (June 1992) Book Reviews
John Courtney Murray and the American Civil Conversation - Review by Neal Fuller The Acton Institute. |
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The Search for an American Public Theology: The Contribution of John Courtney Murray, by Robert W. McElroy.
Paulist Press (May 1989) [From the Publisher]: A synthesis and critical evaluation of Murray's social writings which argues that Murray's life work still represents the best starting point for public theology in the United States of America.
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