DISCOVERY
‘A wonderful mix’ H
Studying Catholicism and democracy around the world
ow does Catholicism facilitate or inhibit democracy? How does the answer vary in different cultural contexts? These questions are
the focus of a study that has been under way through Loyola’s Joan and Bill Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage for about a year and a half. Thirty-two scholars from Chi- cago, Peru, Lithuania, and Indonesia, represent- ing 17 academic fields, are studying the complex relationship between Catholicism and democra- cy in different cultural contexts. They have pre- sented their initial findings at colloquia in those nations, and the results have been illuminating. Eleven of the researchers are Loyolans. “The comparisons and contrasts are fascinat-
ing,” says Michael Schuck, director of the Hank Center and an associate professor in the Depart- ment of Theology. “In Lithuania, the Catholic church embraced democratic principles under Soviet oppression. In the post-Soviet era, the Church is more reticent with the results of de- mocracy—political freedoms are not always in line with moral teachings of the Church, despite the official recognition of democracy as a good thing.” Census information indicates that over 80
percent of Lithuanians are Catholic. In Indone- sia, which has the largest Muslim population of any country in the world, Catholics represent just 3 percent of the population. “The Catholics in Indonesia are stalwart defenders of democ- racy,” says Schuck. “There’s a reason—they’re a minority, and democratic principles protect them. The research has been very clear about the commitment of the Indonesian Catholic church to citizenship and absolute value of de- mocracy.” Schuck describes this phenomenon as one of the clearest and most striking conclu- sions to emerge from collective research. In contrast, between 80 and 90 percent of
Peruvians are Catholic, and the history of the Church in that country is particularly thorny.
Scholars participating in the Democracy, Culture, and Catholicism International Research Project visit Machu Picchu, a 15th-century Inca site in Peru.
“In a post-colonial context, where a Catholic
hierarchy tended to be reliant on the landed aristocracy, this kept a large part of the popula- tion in poverty,” says Schuck. “There was poor land distribution, causing revolutions in Peru and throughout South America in the 1960s and ‘70s. Peru is now a democracy, of course, and you have Jesuits on the ground who are promoting the rights of the poor, and then you have Catholics in the First Estate—part of the old order—who are grudging of that.” According to Schuck, Catholic radicals and
liberals often disagree with the official church in Peru. “Lithuanian Catholics, for example, are
less prone to conflict with the Church,” Schuck says. “Peruvian Catholics are quicker to speak critically of the hierarchy.” Schuck believes that the differing and com-
plex manifestations of democracy and Catholi- cism are what make both systems fascinating and vibrant in our world. “Catholicism doesn’t just mean the Pope and Rome,” he says. “In the real world, it’s played out locally. It’s not a hier- archical monolith; it’s a wonderful mix.” In June 2012, the researchers participating
in the Democracy, Culture, and Catholicism International Research Project will present their completed research in Rome.
24 LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80