Church, citizenship, and discipleship in Catholic social teaching post-Vatican II

The personal is the political. Spiritual values undergird secular norms. It is impossible to totally segregate religion from social engagement. At the same time, fusing religion and politics can be dangerous business. As Massaro (2012) points out, the two most obvious perils associated with the improper blending of Church and State include sectarianism and theocracy. Sectarianism, denounced by the Vatican, refers to deliberate isolation from the world, in self-sustaining and cohesive communities. As attractive as it may be to form religiously minded societies apart from the world, the real work—the hard work of creating the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth—cannot be done in those types of settings. Sectarianism is akin to apathy for the remainder of the planet, and is an isolationist policy that abnegates personal responsibility.
Another one of the dangers of fusing Church and State is theocracy. The dangers of theocracy are well known to those all around the world. Ruling in the name of religion often fuses power, politics, and greed in highly destructive ways. True ethics and genuine moral vision for the future of humanity lies in a middle ground. Politics and religion can remain peers, but have reign in their own respective domains. In fact, scripture agrees. As much as scripture supports a worldview based on Christian values, it does not necessarily advocate for the fusion of church and state at all. “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s,” (Matthew 22:21). Church and State do occupy different realms.
The realms of Church and State do, however, invariably intersect. The problem with too much enmeshment between Church and State is not just the tendency towards theocracy or sectarianism; it is also losing sight of the gentle relationship that can exist between them. Massaro (2012) calls it a “delicate balance,” (p. 30). Even liberation theology, which does earnestly attempt to strike a delicate balance between religion and politics, veers dangerously close to both sectarianism and theocracy both because of the lack of formal institutions in place to support the democratic aims of the movement. To assume the sectarian stance means taking a hostile position to the world, which impedes dialogue as well as social progress (Massaro, 2012). Catholic Social Teaching shows that it is possible to be in the world but not of it; to come from a place of spiritual certainty and stability but to remain engaged critically in the secular society too. Extreme isolation or opposition to diversity and secular values has proven unproductive, which is why it is not recommended as a judicious course of action.
While it is possible to take political action based on secular norms, it is not possible to cultivate Christian ethos but not take any steps towards social justice. The separation of Church and State is in fact unrelated to the separation between spiritual values and political action. Even in a pluralistic society, law and public policy can reflect the shared vision and ethics in common to all cultures and traditions. Moreover, the political and religious spheres can and should be differentiated due to their fundamentally different methodologies and goals. Separation of Church and State does not mean that Christians are exempt from a duty to take action. Evangelism is in many ways the opposite of apathy—it means taking action in a decisive way that reflects the universal ethical principles upon which a better world is built.
Balancing the spiritual with the political is one of the most difficult challenges for modern Catholics. In fact, any spiritually minded person who wants to do good in the world needs to find that balance. It involves recognizing the difference between things that are best approached via mundane means, and those that are best dealt with on a religious or spiritual level. It means knowing one’s strength and ability to take decisive action in meaningful ways that bring about results, keeping in mind core Christian principles.








References

Massaro, T. (2012). Living Justice: Catholic Social Teaching in Action. Second Classroom Edition. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.