Catholics and Everyday Life in Macau : Changing Meanings of Religiosity, Morality and Civility

Catholicism has had an important place in Macau since the earliest days of Portuguese colonization in the sixteenth century. This book, based on extensive original research including in-depth interviews, examines in detail the everyday life of Catholics in Macau at present. It outlines the tremendous societal pressures which Macau is currently undergoing – sovereignty handover and its consequences, the growth of casinos and tourism and the transformation of a serene and somewhat obscure colony into a vibrantly developing city. It shows how, although the formal structures of Catholicism no longer share in rule by the colonial power, and although formal religious observance is declining, nevertheless the personal piety and ethical religious outlook of individual Catholics continue to be strong, and have a huge, and possibly increasing, impact on public life through the application of personal religious ethics to issues of human rights and social justice and in the fields of education and social services. Cover -- Dedication -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1 Changing contours of religious and spiritual life -- Secularization thesis: its critics and revisionists -- From generation to generation: the declining social authority of Macau Catholicism -- Between ritualism and inwardness: the distinct religiosity of Macau Catholicism -- The secular as sacred: construction of everyday life as a religious domain -- The personal is spiritual: inner pluralism and the experience of virtuoso religiosity -- From secularization to secularity -- 2 Moral community and the Catholic tradition -- The private sphere and its social significance: moral character and the problem of individualism -- Catholic city, casino city: the changing ethical meanings of family and work -- Historical and sociological background -- Moral responses -- Instilling the moral voice: church schools and the socialization experiences of Macau Catholics -- Rejuvenating Catholic education: the promotion of social awareness and religious perspective -- Civil society as moral community: the equivocal position of Macau Catholicism -- 3 Social justice and the obstructed path of democracy -- Catholic social teaching and its problematic implementation in Macau -- When religion meets politics: the historical burden of Macau Catholicism -- Institutionalizing social justice: the problem of representation and inculcation -- Blue collar out, white collar in: the problematic role of the new middle class -- Under- evaluation: the conflation of social justice with political partisanship -- Over- evaluation: the conflation of social justice with religious integrity -- 4 Emerging forms of Catholic civic engagement -- Public religion and the varieties of Catholic social imagination City on a hill: Catholic social teaching as exemplary conduct in everyday life -- Reinventing the casino city: religious tourism as creative social intervention -- Beyond ethics and politics: professional knowledge and moderate social activism -- Professionalizing church intervention: responsive social work and the uses of social research -- Catholic social work -- Catholic university -- Varieties of Catholic civility: bridging religious identity and social action -- Conclusion -- References -- Index Changing Contours Of Religious And Spiritual Life -- Moral Community And The Catholic Tradition -- Social Justice And The Obstructed Path Of Democracy -- Emerging Forms Of Catholic Civic Engagement. Chen Hon-fai. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.