Philosophandum in fide
A Catholic philosophical association in the spirit of Jacques Maritain
Founded in 1977, the American Maritain Association has been an intellectual home for generations of Catholic philosophers and theologians. Carrying forward the Thomistic tradition along the lines which inspired the work of the 20th-century philosopher Jacques Maritain, the Association has held yearly conferences for over forty years and continues to publish texts gathering together the best of the papers dedicated to each year’s particular theme.
2024–2025 Membership Dues
It’s that time once again to collect dues and register new members! Thank you for your continued dedication to the American Maritain Association
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Thanks to everyone who helped to make the conference a great success. It was wonderful to be together and to share spiritually, intellectually, and in friendship! We look forward to seeing everyone in 2025 in Florida!
(2024 Conference)
Maritain on Democracy: Promise and Peril; and Commemorating the 750th Anniversary of St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas Aquinas
Thursday, April 11 to Saturday, April 13, 2024
(Hosted by St. Bernard’s School of Theology, Rochester, NY)
Conference Program
Three of our plenary speakers:
Drs. Timothy Noone, Russell Hittinger, and David Walsh
April 2024 Special Issue of
Journal of Moral Theology Special Issue
“Catholicism, Challenges to Democracy, and the Legacy of Jacques Maritain”
Why might Maritain be helpful now? The authors in this journal issue suggest a range of reasons. Among the most important is that Maritain has described the moral and spiritual grounding of democracy. He articulates the moral value of democracy as the form of politics that best allows Christians to live out love of neighbor and enemy in concrete ways.
— Laurie Johnston, Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Emmanuel College in Boston and Co-editor of this Special Issue
Introduction: Jacques Maritain and Contemporary Challenges to Democracy by Laurie Johnston
Threading the Needle: Jacques Maritain’s Defense of a Christian and Liberal Democracy by Mary Doak
Jacques Maritain, “Pure” Nature, and the State’s Teleological Crisis by Gilbrian Stoy, CSC
Distinct But Not Separate: Rethinking Maritain’s Distinction of Planes to Recover His Democratic Potential by Travis Knoll
Rescuing Maritain from His Reception History: A Reappraisal of William T. Cavanaugh’s Critique in Torture and Eucharist by Brian J. A. Boyd
Revisiting Maritain in the Present Context—A Response to Gilbrian Stoy, Travis Knoll, and Brian Boyd by William T. Cavanaugh
Partners in Forming the People: Jacques Maritain, Saul Alinsky, and the Project of Personalist Democracy by Nicholas Hayes-Mota
Community Organizing for Democratic Renewal: The Significance of Jacques Maritain’s Support for Saul Alinsky and His Methods by Brian Stiltner
A Common World is Possible: Maritain, Pope Francis, and the Future of Global Governance by Kevin Ahern
Catholic Social Teaching: Toward a Decolonial Praxis by Alex Mikulich
Afterword by John T. McGreevy
In memoriam: Desmond J. Fitzgerald
Long-time AMA member Desmond J. Fitzgerald passed away on December 26, 2023. For an account of his many years of academic service, as well as a remembrance written by his long-time collaborator Michael Lehmann.
Get the latest issue of the Maritain Notebook!
Metaphysics Conference: The Liturgy of the Eucharist
June 12-13, 2024
Saint Anselm College
Manchester, New Hampshire
The Institute for Saint Anselm Studies invites papers for a conference on the Catholic Eucharistic Liturgy.
Keynote Speaker, Rev. Kurt Belsole, OSB, Coordinator of Liturgical Formation at the Pontifical North American College, Vatican City State, Rome.
The Eucharistic liturgy is both the summit of the Church’s prayer and the sacramental event that makes present and brings forth the body of Christ.
Papers are welcomed on topics ranging from the nature and history of the liturgy to the metaphysics of the Eucharistic change.
Selected papers will be published in The Saint Anselm Journal.
Please send an abstract of 100-200 words to Montague Brown (mbrown@anselm.edu) by February 19, 2024.
Francis X. Slade (1927–2022)
We sorrowfully inform the membership of the passing of Franicis Slade, former member of the AMA, whose work in political philosophy has had a lasting impact upon many of us. More information can be found below.
Jacques Maritain in the 21st Century:
Personalism and the Political Organization of the World
Walter Schultz is Auxiliary Professor in the Faculty of Philosophy at the Dominican University College, Canada, and has served for seven years as President of the Canadian Jacques Maritain Association and Editor of the association’s journal, Études maritainiennes/Maritain Studies.
Contact us
Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have!
Email
webmaster.maritainassociation@gmail.com