Political and Religious Action in the World Essay

Tags: social justice public policy church religion politics religious god ethics law duty evangelism earth greed vatican diversity stability

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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).

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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….....

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References

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

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