Catholic Social Doctrine: What Does the Church Teach About Democracy and Values

3/27/2012

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different political trends. It must be observed in this regard that if there is no ultimate truth to guide and direct political action, then ideas and convictions can easily be manipulated for reasons of power. As history demonstrates, a democracy without values easily turns into open or thinly disguised totalitarianism.'" (Compendium, No. 407)

Like all other forms of government, democracy is but a form of government. It is a means, and not an end in itself. Like all human government, democracy has been de-divinized by Christ. Democracy has no more claim to worship than did Caesar.

Being but a means of government, democracy needs something extrinsic to it so that it may have an end. Though written constitutions and statements of rights attempt to impose such an extrinsic order, there has to be a law above these, what Constitutional Law Professor Thomas E. Cronin called the "Higher Law."

In fact, traditionally, the notion of this "Higher Law"--the natural moral law--was a central value held by all the signers of the Declaration of Independence and all the ratifiers of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The founders of our form of government recognized what the Compendium states is essential for democracy to recognize: that there is a law outside process, there is an objective realm of morality to which it must answer:

"Democracy," the Compendium states again drawing from John Paul's encyclical, "is fundamentally "a 'system' and as such is a means and not an end. Its 'moral' value is not automatic, but depends on conformity to the moral law to which it, like every other form of human behavior, must be subject: in other words, its morality depends on the morality of the ends which it pursues and of the means which it employs." (Compendium, No. 407)

For a variety of reasons, the moral consensus of the good behind our democracy has collapsed. We no longer hold to a central core of objective moral truth. A radical individual autonomy--freedom for freedom's sake--where we define what we want to be and what is to be our good has replaced any notion of an objective moral order. Indeed, there has been a revolution of sorts, and it has infected even the highest institutions who have institutionalized this ethical relativism.

In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992), the majority of the Supreme Court refused to overturn Roe v. Wade. In that case, Justice Anthony Kennedy defined the "heart of liberty" to be this radical autonomy where each individual defines his or her good, where each individual has "the right to define one's concept of existence, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life." A few years later, that passage was referred to in the Supreme Court case which overturned all laws that criminalized homosexual sodomy. In a scathing dissent, Justice Scalia referred to this "sweet-mystery-of-life" passage, as the "passage that ate the rule of law." Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 575 (2003).

In his book Liberal Purposes, the liberal political philosopher William Galston--who was critical of his liberal colleague John Rawls--insisted that there had to be a minimum level of consensus regarding the good--a minimal perfectionism--for a liberal democracy to function. Such a consensus had to disavow secular nihilism, Nietzschean irrationalism, and barbarism. The "sweet-mystery-of-life" passage which has entered our Constitutional jurisprudence courtesy of Justice Kennedy comprehends all three of these demons.

Let us not be fooled by the "sweet-mystery-of-life" passage. It is nothing other than a pleasant way of saying: "Evil, be thou my good." And by these saccharine words we have justified as good--for the mere reason that they were chosen as good and for no other reason--and institutionalized such moral enormities as contraception, abortion, and sodomy, all of which are sins which cry to heaven for vengeance. (Gen. 4:10, 18:20).

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil. (Isaiah 5:20) It presents a real danger to our democratic way of life and to the political patrimony our fathers bequeathed us.

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Andrew M. Greenwell is an attorney licensed to practice law in Texas, practicing in Corpus Christi, Texas. He is married with three children. He maintains a blog entirely devoted to the natural law called Lex Christianorum. You can contact Andrew at agreenwell@harris-greenwell.com.
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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Democracy, moral values, government, civil government, Catholic Social Doctrine, Andrew Greenwell

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1 - 10 of 11 Comments

Mary
1 year ago
Would love to know of a governmental system where the moral order could be upheld and would not decline into a general moral or secular relatavism. I think that is up to us as individuals to uphold the moral order in our own families. I think that our constitutional republic is still the best system devised or possible in a pluralistic society. for me to maintain my freedom to follow God through His One Holy and Apostolic Church. If you all have a better idea I would certainly love to hear it.
Andrew
1 year ago
@Dave: I do agree that our political constitution is a federal republic based upon democratic principles, though not only democratic principles since part of the constitution has other principles, e.g., a judiciary appointed for life (which is not democractic), a President with veto power (which is not democractic). It was actually more mixed than it is now, largely because of the influences of Jacksonian Democracy. Republic = res publica = commonwealth is the notion that the State is for the common good, and not something for the benefit of some private interest or part of the whole. Democracy is more a process of participation by the people (demos). It is possible to envision a democracy which is not a republic, e.g., one that is based solely on the will of the majority and disregardful of minority rights. In such a case it would not be a republicam (since it would rule for the interests of the majority at the expense of the minority), but a reprivatum.
Vance
1 year ago
Great article that applies to our current society. We all have the Old Testament to read many examples of Israel in moral decline and the consequences. During those periods of moral decline, it clearly appears that the Religious hierarchy was also in moral decline. Over the past 50 years the Catholic Church hierarchy have been silent spectators to the moral decay of our nation. They got into the game because Obama and the Marxist Party forced their hand. They admit that they didn't really want to fight but they were forced into it. The article posits that a Democracy that has no moral compass is no Democracy. There seems to be a parallel between Israel of the Old Testament and America today. History is repeating itself.
John Baysson
1 year ago
Very good article! Very informative and quiet relevant given the time where people seem to thin the values that had lead to Democracy it-self are up for a majority to decide.
Rob
1 year ago
Dave G, I really do believe that we have supplanted the mission field for political activism. I think in some circles the "America" has become an idol where the thought is that if we get rid of this guy and put in our guy, this will usher in the second coming. You ask how do we turn the tide? We've really got to work on our evangelization. I really think the reason so many have drifted away is that the religious folks of our time are really not all that different from the non-believers. We live the same way, divorce the same way, contracept the same way, we spend money the same way. We've given them nothing in our witness to suggest to them that true happiness is found in Christ. We've got one foot in the world and one in the Church and it's not working. I think a non-believer looks at us as says why on earth should I give this all up....they haven't. I'd rather go on being true and playing golf on sunday morning than going to mass and playing church. I know this is a huge generalization, but we might do well to really think about the mission of our church. It's really not politics. We might all want to ask ourselves if the time we spend following politics and whatever rabbit holes that takes us down compares to the time we spend evangelizing? Are we sharing the good news or are we just political? Are we a soldier for Jesus or for Caesar?
techwreck
1 year ago
Dave, I believe that a republic is a "democratic form of government". And I certainly believe that forms of government that allow citizens to participate in government, as the U.S. republic does, are preferable to governments dominated by ruling classes. That is what the U.S. became as a result of the Rowe v. Wade decision. A small group of elites on the "Supreme" Court made a fundamental decision about the right to life that changed our nation. That "right" did not appear anywhere in our Constitution, and the justices who supported the decision should have been impeached by the Congress for exceeding their constitutional authority. They were not, despite overwhelming opposition to the decision by the American people. Thus began the decay of our government and country as our form democratic form of government was hijacked by the elites and the U.S. became a European style state with a progressive form of government ruled by elites.
Joseph
1 year ago
Excellent article!
David
1 year ago
To be true to the true nature of life, that if a country gravitates away from Jesus, what was written above will happen. If a country gravitates towards Jesus, than the opposite of the above destruction will happen. It is all a matter of the one true light of the world, Jesus Christ. To also be of truth, that what goes up can also come down. That what destroy's itself for rejecting Jesus, can with all good hope, heal itself with Jesus as well. If democrocy comes to Jesus, it will not fail to succeed as a democracy. But it must come to Jesus.
abey
1 year ago
Again, no culture is by itself a culture, but comes about through certain beliefs & based upon this is the Social & Moral structure to the governance. Hence at the basis of Democracy or of any other form of governance lies the Social & Moral beliefs. As in the case of the west where the Governance was based on the Christian belief there arose the democracy which was government off/by & for the people called "Christian Democracy" which notably became the best form of Governance in the world but when this very Christian beliefs are changed to ancient Pagan beliefs, beliefs that are an abomination unto GOD as Biblically stated, then the governance becomes "Pagan Democracy" seen today under Obama & the democrats, changing the meaning to People off/by/for the government, which in the simple meaning is to slavery, Biblically tagged to the "Mark of the Beast". A typical example where the best form of governance can turn in itself to the worst form of governance, thus making the chief cause to the beliefs of the people, & a clear indication that it does not pay to go against the Word of God, in the beliefs. To this the Kingdom of GOD on earth can be expected, based on the Truth in the Belief without "Prefixes or Suffices", to its Name,Character or Charter.
jh
1 year ago
Well explained.

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