Democracy and the Church Cover Image

Democracy and the Church
Democracy and the Church

Author(s): Piotr Mazurkiewicz
Subject(s): Philosophy
Published by: Instytut Studiów Politycznych PAN
Keywords: Democracy; Christianity; personalism; Social Teaching of the Church (CST).

Summary/Abstract: The question arises whether the coherence between Democracy and the Christian vision of the person and Society as something much more essential or is it simply a matter of chance? It is only with Christianity, with its teachings on the concept of inviolable rights of the person, equality, political rights of the people, and the absolute value of relationships based on law and justice as the basis of society and based on fraternal love, created a new Vision of political order which all contemporary nations aim to implement. If not for the Christian concept of democracy, the democracy that we know today, would probably have taken a different form. The Church’s support for democracy is something unquestionable. However, not every kind of democracy automatically is in keeping with the teachings of the Church. This depends on a democracy’s relation to truth and freedom. The Church supports democracy today, however it does not support one, concrete vision of the political system of the State. It respects the just autonomy of the democratic order, and it does not have a concrete reason for supporting one particular institutional and constitutional solution or another.

  • Issue Year: 2009
  • Issue No: 11
  • Page Range: 161-185
  • Page Count: 25
  • Language: English