The Church's Role in Politics

For decades, there has been a common mantra chanted by certain politicians, the popular media, and even several "regular" people. That mantra is as follows, "Separation of Church and State!" Translated into English that means, "Do not seek to introduce a viewpoint that infringes on or calls into question my behavior or opinion." Often, the activity espoused by these chanters is one opposed by traditional religious belief, including, but not limited to, that of the Christian Faith. In other circumstances, there is a worldview or opinion that does not square with that of Judeo-Christian beliefs. Rather than leave room for the free exchange of ideas and defense of theory, the chanter would rather that the "religious zealot" remain silent. Not only is this unfair, it is also illegal.

In the interest of fairness, it should also be mentioned that there are those persons holding a religious worldview who would like to see all dissenting opinions silenced as well. They do, however, seem to represent a minute percentage of religious adherents. The Catholic Church has an opinion as to the role of the Church in the realm of Politics. Explained briefly below, the Church expects to have a balanced relationship to the State, in whatever form it may take, be it a Republic, a Democracy, or even a Totalitarian Regime.

The State has the role to provide for the common good of its inhabitants and to exercise justice. The Church has always believed and taught this, but there is a problem in leaving that statement all by itself. Left to itself, how does the State define "common good", and how does it know what "justice" is? That is where the Church comes in. As the representatives of God (after all, the Church is the family of God even as it is the Body of Christ), the Church has the unique role of informing the State and therefore helping to form the State's conscience. This is a powerful responsibility, but it is necessary in order to maintain order in a means that truly provides for the common good of all people.