Faith in the Public Square: Some Reflections on Its Role and Limitations From the Perspective of Catholic Social Teaching

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in the proper role of religion in the public square. This paper offers brief reflections on the role for religious entities to play in the process of law-making and the development of public policy. It addresses this question NOT from the perspective of the government looking at religion to see what role it should play. Rather, it examines this question from the perspective of a religious group assessing what its proper role and moral obligations might be in the public square. Much of this discussion is taken, specifically, from principles of Catholic social thought. It begins by discussing three valuable contributions that religious groups might make and then addresses a number of limitations on this role - not from the perspective of Constitutional law, but from the perspective of religious groups who should themselves understand the prudent limitations on their influence in shaping law