40

‪Between 1951 and 1958, at the request of the French episcopate, Father Lebret and his collaborators of Economie et Humanisme devoted their sociological skills to benefit a pastoral commitment. This article considers the conditions under which Father Lebret began this work, focusing on the mobilization of a network of researchers, activists and priests and on the conceptual tools, publications and social inquiries that resulted. Lebret’s religious sociology can be considered a key example of the “sociological enthusiasm” in the Church of France during the post-war decades and shows how analytic models circulated between general and pastoral sociology. It came to an end in 1958, when Lebret, after managing several social surveys in third world countries, turned to a career as international expert in economic development.‪