Order & Influence Series: From opus Dei to the Opus Dei: the Modern Reevaluation of Labor in the Roman Catholic Church

This second talk in the Order & Influence lecture series, titled From opus Dei to the Opus Dei: the Modern Reevaluation of Labor in the Roman Catholic Church, will be given by cultural anthropologist Frank Ngo of the Ohio State University Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society.

Abstract: Is there a connection between the monastic Opus Dei and the lay group Opus Dei? (Echoing Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Opus Dei is a force of Western Modernity within Roman Catholicism in its emphasis on finding sanctity in the everyday.) By tracing the changing relationship between labor and ritual, we interrogate how Opus Dei marks a historical shift within the Catholic Church with regards to a hierarchy of work and sentiments towards ordinary life.

The Order & Influence lecture series, sponsored by the CSLD’s Catholic Social & Political Thought Initiative, highlights the influence of religious orders and lay associations on broader cultural and political life through an examination of the unique history and charisms of six prominent religious communities.