University, Church, and Social Change: The Case of Catholic Colleges in Ontario, 1931-1961

This paper is based upon research covering the period 1931-61 and is aimed at examining relationships between Roman Catholic social teaching and conse quent social action within the Province of Ontario. The seven studies constituting the research focused on six distinct areas in and around the cities of Windsor, London, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, and Sudbury. Excluding seminaries or theologates, four of these cities contained one Catholic post-secondary institu tion, typically identified as an ' Arts and Science' college or university, and the city of Ottawa contained two such institutions. The original research was concerned with identifying the range of personal and institutional efforts contributing to the development of social action initia tives, without particular regard to educational affiliation. Finally, however, such identification proved to be a key consideration in the analysis of the relationship between reflection and praxis. This essay focuses on that identification in an attempt to gain a clearer understanding of the relationship among religious commitment, educational activity, and initiatives for social action occurring within the province during this thirty-year period. The paper proceeds by way of a brief introduction to a number of Max Weber's interpretive categories. It then establishes the context of the research, and offers a summary account of the research findings for two of the areas. It concludes with a reflection on the findings within a Weberian interpretive framework.