Professor Jay P. Corrin       jckuch@bu.edu

is Chairman and Professor in the Division of Social Science in the College of General Studies at Boston University. 

In 1991 he won the Peyton Richter Award for interdisciplinary teaching.  

A historian interested in religion and politics — especially the influence of Catholicism on political thought and actions — Professor Corrin is the author of numerous articles and books, including G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc: The Battle against Modernity.

His most recent book is Catholic Intellectuals and the Challenge of Democracy, published by the University of Notre Dame Press.

“Tracing the development of progressive Catholic approaches to political and economic modernization, Catholic Intellectuals and the Challenge of Democracy disputes standard interpretations of the Catholic response to democracy and modernity in the English-speaking world—particularly structures.

“Starting with the writings of Bishop Wilhelm von Ketteler of Germany, the Frenchman Frederic Ozanam, and England’s Cardinal Henry Edward Manning, whose pioneering work laid the foundation of the Catholic third way, Corrin reveals a long tradition within Roman Catholicism that championed social activism. These visionary writers were the forerunners of Pope John XXIII’s aggiornamento, a call for Catholics to broaden their historical perspectives and move beyond a static theology fixed to the past.

“By examining this often overlooked tradition, Corrin attempts to confront the perception that Catholicism in the modern age has invariably been an institution of reaction that is highly suspicious of liberalism and progressive social reform. Catholic Intellectuals and the Challenge of Democracy charts the efforts of key Catholic intellectuals, primarily in Britain and the United States, who embraced the modern world and endeavored to use the legacies of their faith to form an alternative, pluralistic path that avoided both socialist collectivism and capitalism.”

Jay Corrin was awarded the American Catholic Historical Association's John Gilmary Shea Prize for his 2002 book Catholic Intellectuals and the Challenge of Democracy at its annual meeting in January 2004.