Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

Theological Anthropology In The Theology Of Marriage And Family, Joseph S. Flipper

Journal of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium

The Catholic Church is faced with the challenge of theologically interpreting families that have experienced divorce, remarriage, and children outside of wedlock. The anthropology of conjugal self-gift, though valuable as an analogy to the Trinitarian communion, makes the nuclear family into an ideal. Since fewer than half of children in the U.S. live in the “traditional family,” it remains a problematic ideal. I suggest that familial and marital situations outside of the norm—often seen as problems illustrative of the breakdown of marriage in contemporary society—may be regarded in another light. A more adequate anthropology must consider how diverse marital and …