Open AccessThe Teaching of the Church on Religious Freedom: A Break or Continuity of Tradition?
Author(s) -
Michał Chaberek
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
collectanea theologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.139
H-Index - 2
eISSN - 2720-1481
pISSN - 0137-6985
DOI - 10.21697/ct.2020.90.5.24
Subject(s) - hermeneutics , religious freedom , credibility , position (finance) , academic freedom , period (music) , commission , sociology , religious studies , philosophy , theology , history , law , political science , aesthetics , higher education , politics , finance , economics
This paper elaborates upon the Catholic Church’s teaching on religious freedom in the period from The French Revolution to The Second Vatican Council. Based on quotations from the original documents, the author presents the evolution of the Church’s position that switched from the initial rejection to the final acceptance of the religious freedom over past two centuries. The fact of this dramatic change begs the question about the continuity of tradition and credibility of the contemporary position of the Church. Based on the document by the International Theological Commission, “Memory and Reconciliation: The Church and the Faults of the Past,” as well as the teaching of Pope Benedict XVI, the author demonstrates that – in contrast to some contemporary interpretations – the hermeneutics of continuity is possible regarding Church’s teaching on religious freedom.