STEUBENVILLE, OH—The true meaning of marriage in modern society, Catholic business ethics, and the societal implications of liberalism and individualism are just some of the 30-plus topics that will be discussed October 23-24, 2015, during the 23rd annual conference for the Society of Catholic Social Scientists (SCSS).

The conference, to be held at Franciscan University of Steubenville, where the SCSS is headquartered, will include 66 scholars and practitioners in the social sciences from more than 40 universities, colleges, and other institutes and practices nationwide.

Talks divided over the conference’s 20 sessions include “Marriage as a Theological Project,” “The Futile Life: Pursuing True Happiness in a World Without Truth,” “Incorporating Virtue Education in Collegiate Business Programs,” and “Drug Courts and Catholic Social Teaching.” An entire session will be devoted to the discussion of current developments concerning same-sex marriage, which was legalized in all 50 states in a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Visit the SCSS website | Register for the Conference

Dr. Stephen M. Krason, Franciscan University political science and legal studies professor and president of the SCSS, says that in light of the Supreme Court’s decision, this year’s conference is especially timely.

“Now is when Catholic scholarship must be particularly cognizant of its evangelistic mission,” he said. “Catholic social scientists must produce sound scholarship informed fully by the truth that will courageously encounter and challenge contemporary developments that either have strayed far from the truth or think it irrelevant.”

During the conference, the 2015 Pope Pius XI Award for Contributions Toward the Building Up of a True Catholic Social Science will be given to Father D. Paul Sullins, PhD, professor of sociology emeritus at The Catholic University of America. Father Sullins has produced over 100 research reports and journal articles analyzing cultural issues including the Human Genome Project, Protestant women priests, RU-486 abortions, and same-sex marriage. A former Episcopalian, he is a long-time SCSS board member and previously served as director of its Summer Institute of Catholic Social Thought. He is also a Fellow of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute as well as an Ignatius Loyola Fellow for Catholic Identity at the Center for the Advancement of Catholic Higher Education.

Since its establishment in 1992, the SCSS has given Catholic social science scholars a community of mutual support and encouragement as they approach political, social, and economic questions through advanced scholarship adhering to the natural law and Church teaching in a world that puts truth under constant attack.

For more information visit the SCSS website, www.catholicsocialscientists.org, or contact Carrie Libetti at Franciscan University, [email protected] or 740-284-5262.

To register visit the Registration Page.