The Practical Sociologist: Role and Performance of Pastoral Sociologists in the West German Catholic Church, 1945–1970

Abstract

The article is discussing the practical work of pastoral sociologists in the West German Catholic Church from 1945 to 1970. In this context the distinction between “consultant,” “practitioner,” and “researcher in a practical setting,” can be used to highlight different sets of values, forms of engagement, and conceptual approaches to sociological work in the church. Using one specific example for each of the three types, this article argues that pastoral sociology during the 1960s was increasingly self-reflexive, and that different notions of “sociological enlightenment” were an important part of pastoral sociology, in the wake of the contestation of “1968”.