With God All Things Are Possible

With the inductive and historicist turn in theological method, the social sciences have become an important handmaid of theology. The intersection between theology and the social sciences, however, has been characterized, on the one hand, as one of alliance, and, on the other, as one of conflict. Structures of Sin, Cultures of Meaning seeks to advance the dialogue and the collaboration between them.

Social science considers religion primarily as a social institution and as a cultural system. The first part of the book explains what a social institution is, why religion is a social institution, and elaborates on its implications for theology in such areas as the bureaucratization of religion, the formation of structures of injustice, the preferential option for the poor. The second part elucidates on what a cultural system is, why religion is a cultural system, and its consequences for theology in such areas as religious identity and community, Christian ethics and formation, evangelization and inculturation.

The social structures and cultures of the past impinge on those of the present to create the challenges of today and the possibilities for tomorrow. People make history and do theology in the circumstances created by social structures and cultures of meaning.