Because of Our Faith, Not in Spite of It!

Why does religion still matter?  Why does it still have a hold on people?  Why do people stay in and with the Church in an age in which reason, secularism, and materialism have become the new enchantments?

At a recent meeting of Catholics Organized for Renewal (COR) in San Antonio, Texas, Michele Dillon, Ph.D. Professor of Sociology, University of New Hampshire, gave us a unique perspective on some possible answers.

The title of her presentation “The Euphemization of Power in the Catholic Church” and much of its content comes from her new book, Postsecular Catholicism: Relevance and Renewal which we highly recommend.  In a post-secular age, she argues, the religious and the secular worlds would not be at odds with each other but would, instead, maintain a dialogue that informs, enriches, and enhances both. She notes, with caveats, that Pope Francis has actually begun this transition by declaring that the secular world is not our enemy, by bringing Catholicism into the public arena, and by his “accessible language and intellectual humility.”

The real news here is that this engagement with the secular world to renew and reform the church is not only not new, it is very much a part of Catholic tradition and teachings. Michelle Dillon pointed out that we have always had, within the Church, “interpretive autonomy” an encouragement for us to ponder and even question Church teaching based on our actual lived experience.  This self-autonomy, influenced by the American experience and especially by American Protestantism, is actually legitimized by Catholic doctrines as reinforced by Vatican II.  Catholicism values faith with reason, not just faith alone.

And so, the question can you be a “good” Catholic and not adhere to Church teachings is answered, well, yes. In recent survey results she presented, 80% of Catholics considered themselves “good Catholics” even without faithfully attending Mass, even though using contraceptives, even as they supported same sex marriage. What made them “good”, they said, was valuing the sacraments, living a sacramental life. Most of us apparently see God as dwelling in, not outside, the secular and, therefore, every day experience is not (necessarily) a threat to our souls. She asks: When you have a moral decision to make, what resources do you consult?  Church teaching?  Life experience?  Or both?

How refreshing to see the purpose of Church documents as encouraging discourse rather than simply issuing commands. Yet, how sad that so many in the Church hierarchy misinterpret, hide from, or resist this notion.  Why, for example, when so much stated by the Church is clothed in metaphor to promote reflection, argument, and discourse, does one issue provoke an absolute, concrete, irresolvable ban on action and on reasoned, informed discussion : women’s ordination. Why is this the one glaring exception?

Maybe in the end the “why” does not really matter.  The good news is that this kind of clarity of the true intent of Church doctrine actually helps us in the end. How nice to be able to resist hierarchical oppression using, as intended, the very tradition they use against us. We can reason, we can question, we can dialogue, we can resist because of our faith, not in spite of it.