The Catholic Charismatics

The first systematic study of Catholic Charismatic Renewal, which has won some 200,000 members since its birth in the turbulent sixties, this book places the movement in its socio-historical context. In so doing, the authors enhance understanding both of CCR and of other movements—some not ordinarily defined as religious—requiring high commitment and involvement among members to insure success.

The authors made an in-depth study of fifteen representative CCR prayer groups in eight states of the East, Midwest, and South, including twenty visits to group meetings and two to international conventions. Their data and insights are based on participant observation, questionnaires and interviews, and analysis of documents. They conclude that Catholic Charismatic Renewal is one manifestation of a worldwide tension between "secularists" and "traditionalists" —a tension that increases or decreases in relation to a society's success or failure in meeting human aspirations.

The book begins with an overview of the movement in historical context, noting periodic outbreaks of Christian "enthusiasm" in troubled times since the 17th century. Like other Pentecostals, Catholic Charismatics seek "spiritual regeneration" in opposition to what they see as excessive secularism. Yet many of them are to the "left" of church leadership on ethical issues such as birth control, abortion, and clerical celibacy.

The authors' analytical method combined resource mobilization theory, stress analysis, and communication network analysis. Unlike "pure" resource mobilization theorists, Bord and Faulkner consider shared grievances and other social psychological factors. Unlike many other social and behavioral scientists, they do not perceive religious movements as the emotional outpourings of the socially marginal. The success of Catholic Charismatic Renewal, this book argues, is the result of talented leadership, successful control of formal and informal communications networks, and the production of experiences that heighten members' perceptions of efficacy. Thus, the authors contend, this movement deserves attention by students of social movements and social psychology, as well as sociology of religion.