Passionate Uncertainty: Inside the American Jesuits

Founded by Ignatius Loyola in 1540, the Society of Jesus remains the largest the most controversial religious order of men in Catholicism. Since the 1960s, however, Jesuits in the US have lost more than half of their members, and they have experinced a massive upheaval in what they believe and how they work and live. In this book Peter McDonough and Eugene Bianchi draw on interviews and statements gathered from more than 400 Jesuits and former Jesuits to provide an intimate look at the turmoil among Catholicism's legendary best-and-brightest. Priests and former priests speak candidly about their reasons for joining (and leaving) the Jesuits, about their sexual development and orientation, about their spiritual crises and their engagement with other religious traditions. They discuss issues ranging from celibacy to the ordination of women, homosexuality, the rationale of the priesthood, the challenges of community life, and the divinity of Jesus. "Passionate Uncertainty" traces the transformation of the Society of Jesus from a fairly unified organization into a smaller, looser community with disparate goals and an elusive corporate identity. From its role as a traditional subculture during the days of immigrant Catholicism, the order has changed into an amalgam of countercutlures shaped around social mission, sexual identity, and an eclectic spirituality. The story of the Jesuits reflects the crisis of clerical authority and the deep ambivalence surrounding American Catholicism's encounter with modernity.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Prologue: Diversity without Democracy 1. Staying and Leaving 2. Becoming a Jesuit 3. From Innocence to Experience 4. Sex, Celibacy, and Identity 5. Ignatian Spiritualities 6. Eclecticism and Commitment 7. Life in Community 8. Ministry and the Meaning of Priesthood 9. Revitalizing the Schools 10. Organizational Dilemmas, Symbolic Conflicts, Structural Problems 11. Low-Profile Politics Epilogue: Evening's Empire Notes on Methodology Notes Glossary List of Figures and Tables Index

About the Author :
Peter McDonough is Professor of Political Science at Arizona State University. He is author of Men Astutely Trained: A History of the Jesuits in the American Century (1992) and Power and Ideology in Brazil (1981) and coathor of The Cultural Dynamics of Democratization in Spain (1998). Eugene C. Bianchi is Professor Emeritus of Religion at Emory University. He is author of Elder Wisdom: Crafting Your Own Elderhood (1999) and coeditor of A Democratic Catholic Church (1992).

Review :
"This is a work of astonishing depth. McDonough and Bianchi are masterful tellers of the Jesuit tale, [which is] equally subtle, startling, and profound. You'll catch yourself wholly engrossed in four centuries of Jesuit history."-James F. Fisher, author of Catholics in America; "An excellent case study of a declining religious organization-exploring the multitude of reasons for this decline. Peter McDonough and Eugene Bianchi give a superb account of the organizational, ideological, and psychological changes facing the Jesuits. Scholars and students will learn much from this work. So too will the multitudes of Catholics whose lives have been touched by the dedicated and talented men who affix 'SJ' to their names."-Patricia Wittberg, author of The Rise and Fall of Catholic Religious Orders; "Passionate Uncertainty is a powerful book, tough but required reading for Jesuits and former Jesuits, for those curious about the future of religious life and those simply intrigued by the Jesuit mystique."-Francis X. Clooney, SJ, author of Hindu God, Christian God: How Reason Helps Faith to Cross the Boundaries between Religions