Despite the constitutional division of church and state, the impact of Catholics on American politics in the 1960s and 1970s has been remarkable--as the names of the Kennedys, Eugene McCarthy, Thomas "Tip" O'Neill, Peter Rodino, Thomas Eagleton, the Berrigan brothers, and Cesar Chavez will attest. In this portrait of American Catholicism, Mary Hanna intensely analyzes the political influence of this enormously complex organization. She focuses on the role of the Church in providing the means for an ethnic group to challenge and contribute to the values of the larger society.

Hanna recognizes that the Church is constantly striving to maintain a balance between changing social conditions and the principles of faith. In her analysis of the dynamics of this balance, she asks, for example, why the Church has had such influence on its members on the question of abortion, but has been somewhat less effective on questions relating to minority welfare. Interviews with working-class leaders in Catholic "ethnic" communities provide a new understanding of the complexities of Catholic feeling on these timely issues. Hanna's chapter on the subtleties of the abortion issue, as interpreted by church leaders, Catholic politicians, and the lay population, is a model of scholarship.

This study applies the methods of quantification, survey research, and interviewing to public policy, and yields unexpected results. For example, despite Catholics' stereotyped image as conservative and antiprogressive, Hanna shows that Catholic voters are very liberal on the subject of government's role in solving problems related to the general welfare-health care, the environment, education, crime, drug addiction. She also finds upward mobility in Catholics' education and especially their income. This work combines data from national surveys with personal interviews of clergymen and other Catholic public figures. Hanna's comprehensiveness, documentation, and innovation make this a searching analysis of contemporary American Catholicism.

Have there been times in your relationship with your mate that you wished you were working together towards goals rather than fighting against each other? How can you ensure that the relationship you share today becomes the relationship that you've been hoping for whereby you feel supported, appreciated, loved, understood, and respected? Your desires and goals can be achieved as a result of this book. Because adults are different, and because each mate brings a wealth of experiences into the relationship that might be admirable or might be repulsive, know that "Marriage for Keeps" is the book for you. The format and information for the book derived from countless pre-marital and marital counseling sessions I've had with couples for the past 28 years of pastoral ministries. Rather than attempting to interpret and apply principles from some other technical book on marital and domestic issues, this easy reading and user friendly book is beneficial for singles who are searching for the right mate, couples who are having difficulties within the relationship but don't understand the rationale behind the continuous fights and disagreements they are faced with on a daily basis, and lastly, for married couples who might not have had the privilege of preparing for a life-long meaningful relationship through pre-marital counseling. For couples who are in their second, third or fourth marital relationship, this book will help you not repeat mistakes of the past with ended there past relationships. This book can be used by the following: . Various Church denominations for pastors and marriage counselors. . Couples involved in local and long distant relationships . Small group sessions or classesaddresses the subject of developing meaning relationships . For Churches with couples' ministries . Counselors as a tool for marriage counseling. Pastors, Chaplains, Counselors, and individual counselors can all use this book to teach how to become a better mate, a bette