The Meaning and Practice of Faith

Diarmuid O'Murchu has written a perceptive analysis of the issues surrounding adult faith, following his earlier work on the same topic. It takes a mature approach to the meaning of adult faith and in particular to the issues raised by faith in God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Church and the future. He points out that there has been a huge shift in Christian demographics over the last 50 years. In 1960, 66% the Catholic population lived in the West, with 34% in the South. By 2012, out of a total Catholic population of 1.2 billion, an estimated 80% now live in the South. This is a seismic transformation. The author is well aware of wider social trends with respect to religion and spirituality, and regards the challenge of atheism as one means of purifying religion. Many of the traditional categories are no longer relevant, so that new categories of understanding need to be defined that recognise the struggle and questioning that thinking deeply about faith involves. O'Murchu provides plenty of material for reflection and group discussion.