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Catholic America as Secular Model
Anthony Stevens-Arroyo Washington Post, 9.22.09
Secularism is often considered the result of atheism, but
history disproves that myth. American
Secularism is a form of public neutrality about belief or
unbelief. It is more about agnosticism andreligious tolerance than
about atheism and anti-clericalism. Pope Benedict XVI and Vatican
officialsare now promoting "Catholic Secularism," and that might
have profound effects on Catholic Americaand the separation of
Church and State.
If proof from the dictionary definition were not enough to prove
that atheism and secularism aredifferent, the example of Cuba
should suffice. In 1992, that country changed its constitution,
replacingthe declaration that "Cuba is an atheistic state," to
"Cuba is a secular state." The result was animmediate resurgence of
religion on the island and the successful papal visit five years
later to "openCuba to the world and the world to Cuba."
In the United States, Catholics and Jews in places like 19th
Century New York and Boston fought hardfor secularism in the public
schools. The idea was to prevent Protestantism from imposing its
forms of
Christian prayer and bible reading on everyone. Thus did
"American exceptionalism" produce aCatholic Secularism that differs
from the European " laicit ," with its virulent anti-clericalism
and stalerants about medievalisms.
Recently, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, a respected conservative
prelate close to the Vatican, embraced theUnited States' model of
secularism, linking it to Pope Benedict XVI's praise of " positive
secularism ."For the Cardinal, secularism is a necessary platform
for the public forum. Catholics should not fear tobe secular, said
the prelate, because in its essence secularism requires only that
Catholics use reasonand logic to promote public policy. You don't
have to be an atheist to be rational.
"The decision of whether a way of arguing is rational, or
perhaps more precisely plausible andconvincing, is in a democratic
system entrusted, in the last analysis, solely to the
assessmentmade of it by the citizens as a whole in the appropriate
forums, above all the electoral forums."
I interpret this statement as encouragement for Catholics to
vote as faithful citizens, basing their votingin a democratic
society on rational arguments, not theistic ones. If I am correct
in saying this is whatatheists do, they now have strange
bedfellows.
This promotion of American-style Catholic Secularism may be only
a trial balloon; then again, it may bepart of the current pope's
acceptance of President Obama and the Democratic Party's agenda for
Catholicism. This is important because Catholic Secularism would
have much more electoral clout inthe United States than atheism.
While atheists abound in the blogosphere or the
talk-show-buy-my-new-book circuit, few politicians curry the
"atheist vote:" it is too small and insignificant numbers-wise.In
the 2008 ARIS report, atheists account for less than 1% of people
--- 0.7% in the country, and areoutnumbered 25 to 1 by Catholics .
Catholic voters are another story, because we are widely
considered the key swing vote in most elections.
While atheists should be delighted at their new rationalist
allies among Catholics, the right-wing inCatholic America should be
scared. The Cardinal, like this pope, have fully embraced the
"liberal state"in ways that differ from the articulated positions
of John Paul II, whose Polish experience probablycolored his
perspectives on this topic. The healthy secularism promoted by Pope
Benedict and thereliance on rational thought in the public sphere
run counter to the theocratic impulses of ProtestantEvangelicals
who use bible quotes to justify political decisions. It will be
interesting to see if Catholics(e.g. Rick Santorum ) who have
hitched their wagons to Evangelical rejection of "secular
humanism"
http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1340010?eng=yhttp://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1340010?eng=yhttp://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/catholicamerica/2009/09/www.americanreligionsurvey-aris.orghttp://www.amconmag.com/article/2007/jul/30/00021/http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/catholicamerica/2009/09/www.americanreligionsurvey-aris.orghttp://www.amconmag.com/article/2007/jul/30/00021/http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1340010?eng=y
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side with the Vatican's embrace of liberalism and
secularism.
Liberals, however, should not consider Catholic Secularism as a
slide away from the demands of faithor the rigors of belief. While
admitting that "....religion is not only, and not even primarily, a
source of ethical impulses," Cardinal Ruini places the role of
faith within one's conscience. He says: "... the taskis to find
reasons to live... the mission most proper to Christianity ...
tells us first of all not 'how' to live,
but 'why' to live, why to choose life, why to rejoice in it and
why to transmit it." Amen!
BY ANTHONY M. STEVENS-ARROYO | PERMALINK | COMMENTS (20)
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