Sociology and Catholic Social Teaching: Contemporary Theory and Research offers critical insights into a badly needed alternative vision to the alienation and cynicism that plague our political discourse. Arguing that Catholic social teaching stands as an important morally grounded framework for addressing today's pressing social problems, contributors explore the general principles and specific criteria required for both evaluating and advocating models of social improvement. This anthology is meant for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of sociology or Catholic social thought, as well as scholars in these areas interested in how sociology and Catholic social teaching converge.