Sin, Sex, and Democracy: Politics and the Catholic Church
A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 8411
Special Issue Editors
Interests: Catholic field in Latin America; ecclesiastical abuse; women's religious congregations; religion; poverty; abuse
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Public debates on sexuality, reproduction, and the beginning and end of life, among other topics, make it clear the complex relationship between religion, politics, and society in contemporary democracies. These debates challenge the independence between the State and the Catholic Church as it has been endorsed and consolidated after the Second Vatican Council.
Public debate promoted in several countries in order to legislate on abortion, equal marriage, transgender recognition, and euthanasia, is deeply confronting the Catholic Church, which keeps on maintaining a single official position based on Humanae Vitae Document and the neothomist conception of Natural Law in all its pronouncements from the Holy See. However, increasing tensions are arising between universal uniformity and the diverse reality of the "People of God". Likewise, various currents of thoughts and actions develop whose amplitude and composition vary with the legal and social specificities of the local contexts.
In recent decades, conservative Catholic activism has tended to consolidate by alluding to concepts such as moral panic and gender ideology, while other currents, under the pressure of societal changes and the scandals of the abuses, try to change or "update" (“aggiornarsi”), according to the formula of Pope John XIII, the ecclesial proposals. Various strategies to influence and even pressure the political sphere have been deployed. They encompass the forging of alliances, according to affinities, with churches of various denominations, the organization of massive demonstrations, and a more discreet lobbying in the political arena, among others. On the other hand, politicians, in search of visibility and legitimacy, endorse and promote conspicuously some of the controversial issues, contributing to the polarization of society.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- The conceptual use by diverse “conservative” Catholic groups of concepts such as gender ideology; the moral agenda, natural law, etc., on their struggle against legislation on abortion, equal marriage, euthanasia, in vitro fertilization, etc. Their strategies to make their voices heard in the public sphere.
- Alliances between denominations at a national and international level
- Transnationalization of religious reds of influence
- Alliances between politicians and religious leaders
- Nationalism and Christianity
- Catholic groups lobbying to influence the type of sex education taught in schools
- Negotiations, resignifications and new understanding among catholics in order to support challenging issues for the Catholic Church.
- The impact of the Humanae Vitae document.
Dr. Ana Lourdes Suarez
Dr. Veronique Lecaros
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- gender ideology
- Humanae Vitae
- conservative Catholic gropus
- public debate
- Catholic discourse reconfiguration
- Catholic church
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