‘Never accept’ separation of faith from political engagement

Jul 18, 2019

WASHINGTON: Christians are called to win the battle of ideas and values in secular society, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput said.

In a speech delivered to the Alliance Defending Freedom Summit on Religious Liberty July 9, the archbishop said authentic religious freedom is essential in shaping a society of love, “the animating spirit of all authentically Christian political action.”

“I mean love in the biblical sense: love with a heart of courage, love determined to build justice in society and focused on the true good of the whole human person, body and soul.”

Chaput told the audience of lawyers from around the world that Christians must work to build an authentic vision of society built around the common good, and that “human progress means more than getting more stuff, more entitlements, and more personal licence.”

“Real human progress satisfies the human hunger for solidarity and communion,” Chaput said. “When our leaders and their slogans tell us to move ‘forward into the future,’ we need to take a very hard look at the road we’re on, where ‘forward’ leads, and whether it ennobles the human soul or just aggravates our selfishness, our isolation, and our appetite for things.”

True religious freedom is crucial to serving real human progress, the archbishop said, drawing a distinction between it and “the half-starved copy of the real thing called ‘freedom of worship.’”

“We can never accept a separation of our religious faith and moral convictions from our public ministries or our political engagement. It’s impossible. And even trying to do so is evil because it forces us to live two different lives, worshipping God at home and in our churches; and worshipping the latest version of Caesar everywhere else.”

Sincere religious faith, Chaput said, fosters virtue and not conflict and is vital to advancing human dignity and building a humane society. But, he warned, “the creation myth” of the modern secular state is that religion is irrational, divisive, and violent. --CNA