Christendom College history professor Dr. Christopher Lane’s first book, Callings and Consequences, earned multiple awards at the annual Catholic Media Association Book Awards, held this year on July 7. Earning Third Place for History and Third Place for Theology: History of Theology, Church Fathers and Mothers, Lane’s book explores the making of Catholic vocational culture in Early Modern France.
Debuting early this year, Lane’s Callings and Consequences examines the Catholic reformers’ new vision of the choice of a state of life in seventeenth-century France, explaining that this vision was marked by four characteristics: urgency (the realization that one’s soul was at stake), inclusiveness (the belief that everyone, including lay people, was called by God), method (the use of proven discernment practices), and liberty (the belief that this choice must be free from coercion, especially by parents).
No mere passing phenomena, these vocational reforms engendered enduring beliefs and practices within the repertoire of global Catholic modernity, even to the present day. Lane’s telling of this important historical development in France proved to be an illuminating history of pastoral reform, earning the attention of the Catholic Media Association, and helping readers everywhere better understand the history of Catholic vocational culture and its role in the modernizing process, within Christianity and beyond.
The purpose of the Catholic Media Awards is to recognize the outstanding work of publishers, authors, and book editors that support the faith-filled life of Catholic readers. In past years, alumni of the college have earned numerous journalism awards from the Catholic Media Association for their work.
Lane is an associate professor of history at Christendom, where he teaches HIST 101 through 202, along with Early Modern Catholicism, The History of Catholicism in Asia, Vocations in Early Modern France, and more.
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