Economic - several writers have noted the role of monastics as entrepreneurs.
Social - any good text about medieval monasticism can give you plenty of specific examples of this.
Missionary - some orders were more active in this regard than others.
Cultural - this is perhaps the best known of the work of medieval religious orders and included the creation of the great illuminated manuscripts of the age.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt. His dissatisfaction over Supreme Court decisions holding New Deal programs unconstitutional prompted him to seek out methods to change the way the court functioned.
