Towards an Anthropology of Vocation: From Crisis to Purpose in the Contemporary Catholic Church

我的博士项目从考察职业危机的社会和宗教含义开始。目前神学院数量的减少对西方天主教的影响尤为严重。仅英格兰和威尔士的最新数据就显示，神学院的数量减少了80%。1985年，有162名新手进入修会，2017年降至32人（国家职业办公室，2018年）。普世对圣洁的呼召在1963年第二次梵蒂冈大公会议（梵蒂冈二世）上首次提出。它指的是一种包容性的宗教信仰，即天职作为一种普遍的神学信条，适用于所有人类。最近，在2018年10月的主教会议上，作为对与圣召危机相关的社会和结构挑战的神学回应，它被重新强调。在圣召危机的背景下，大公天主教团体“Chemin Neuf”正在按照一种非传统的宗教圣召模式开展工作。通过实地考察，我的博士研究将跟随车民新的宗教和传教活动，因为他们继续成长为一个宗教社区。我的目的是要确定，在一个包容的、以社区为中心的宗教生活方式，与一个成功的职业的目的和意义之间，是否存在相关性。这将使我对宗教背景下的职业、幸福和幸福的社会科学思想做出新颖的贡献。

My doctoral project starts with an examination the social and religious implication of the vocations crisis. The current decrease in religious seminaries is particularly affecting Western Catholicism. The latest entrant figures for England and Wales alone show an 80% decrease of seminaries. In 1985, 162 novices entered religious orders, which is now down to 32 in 2017 (National Office for Vocation, 2018). The universal call to holiness was first articulated in 1963 during The Second Vatican Council (Vatican II). It refers to the inclusive religious belief that vocation, as a universal theological tenet, is applicable to all human beings. It was recently re-emphasised in the Instrumentum Laboris for the Synod of Bishops in October 2018 as a theological response to the social and structural challenges associated with the vocations crisis. Against the backdrop of the vocations crisis, the ecumenical Catholic community, Chemin Neuf, are working according to a non-traditional model of religious vocation. Through fieldwork, my doctoral research will follow the religious and missionary activity of Chemin Neuf as they continue to grow as a religious community. My aim is to determine whether there is a correlation between an inclusive and community focused approach to religious life, and sentiments of purpose and meaning that make for a successful vocation. This will allow me to make a novel contribution to social scientific thought regarding vocation, wellbeing and happiness within a religious context.