How Moving to Quebec Has Affected My Theology

In this lecture given at the 2009 meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Montreal, Gregory Baum reports how moving to Quebec has affected his practical theology. He mentions three issues of great importance to this French-speaking society that demanded new ethical reflection on his part: the character of an ethically acceptable nationalism, the appropriate response to the cultural weight of English in North America, and an acceptable alternative to Canadian multiculturalism. Thanks to the Montreal-based Karl Polanyi Institute, Baum discovered Karl Polanyi's socio-economic thought critical of the unregulated market system, that differs from Marxism, attends to cultural and ethical issues, and reveals a certain affinity with Catholic social teaching. Polanyi offers a theoretical foundation for the social economy and community efforts to reform society from the bottom up.