Catholic Theology
By Tracey Rowland, Bloomsbury T&T Clark, £14.99
Catholic Theology introduces the Catholic tradition by focusing on “foundations, key concepts, eminent thinkers and historical development”. Rowland, one of the finest Catholic theologians writing today, combines fundamental and historical theology, offers a wide range of insights into numerous theologians and movements, and provides an informative tour of the most significant schools of modern theology.
Meant for undergraduate students and study groups, Catholic Theology has plenty of academic qualities, diving into deep waters while employing substantial endnotes and several appendices. But Rowland wears her learning lightly, even when the topics at hand – schools of Thomism, intricate methodologies, gnoseological concupiscence – are dense and demanding. “The best an author can hope to achieve” in such an introductory text, she explains, is to provide “an overview of the most significant approaches and fault lines” and leave readers to “fill in the details and nuances in their studies”.
