The Church’s relationship with modern democracy and religious pluralism according to the document of the International Theological Commission “Religious freedom for the good of all” : a theological analysis and foundation of the document

Pehar, Marija (author)

This paper explores how contemporary Catholic theology, in reflecting on the relationship between the Church and politics, especially modern de-mocracy, has remained faithful to the openness of the Council and Catholic doctrine towards the world and positive yet specific collaboration with state and political structures. It also examines whether new impulses and directives for the otherwise complex relationship between faith and politics emerge from it, given the changed circumstances of the modern world, especially the empha-sis on contemporary democracy and increasingly prominent religious pluralism. For this purpose, the paper deals with the theological analysis of the documentof the International Theological Commission, “Religious Freedom for the Good of All: Theological Approaches and Contemporary Challenges”, which presents critical reflections on the relationship between the Church and politics, espe-cially democracy, in the modern world. After a detailed presentation of the content of this document in the first part, the second part provides a theolo-gical analysis, pointing out the main theological principles for defining the re-lationship between the Church and politics, specifically the Church and con-temporary democracy, according to this document. From this, some conclusionsare drawn regarding the fruitful and socially relevant life of Christians in the modern world, especially within democratic systems, as suggested by contem-porary theology.

• Language: English
• Keywords: democracy, religious pluralism, religious freedom, International Theological Commission
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: TEOF - Theological Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 01.01.2025
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 337-357
• Numbering: Letn. 85, [št.] 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-177644
• UDC: 27:321.7
• ISSN on article: 0006-5722
• DOI: 10.34291/BV2025/02/Pehar
• COBISS.SI-ID: 262071555
• Publication date in RUL: 30.12.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Bogoslovni vestnik
• Shortened title: Bogosl. vestn.
• Publisher: Bogoslovna akademija, Bogoslovna akademija, Teološka fakulteta v Ljubljani, Teološka fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani, Založba Univerze v Ljubljani
• ISSN: 0006-5722
• COBISS.SI-ID: 8745472

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Odnos Cerkve do sodobne demokracije in verskega pluralizma v skladu z dokumentom Mednarodne te-ološke komisije „Verska svoboda za dobro vseh“ : teološka analiza in temelji dokumenta

Abstract

Prispevek raziskuje, kako je sodobna katoliška teologija pri razmišljanju o odnosu med Cerkvijo in politiko – zlasti v sodobni demokraciji – ostala zvesta odprtosti koncila in katoliškega nauka do sveta ter obenem pozitivnemu, a spe-cifičnemu sodelovanju z državnimi in političnimi strukturami. Proučuje tudi, ali iz tega izhajajo nove spodbude in smernice za sicer (glede na spremenjene raz-mere v sodobnem svetu zlasti ob poudarku na sodobni demokraciji in vse bolj izrazitem verskem pluralizmu) zapleten odnos med vero in politiko. V ta namen je v prispevku teološko analiziran dokument Mednarodne teološke komisije „Verska svoboda za dobro vseh: teološki pristopi in sodobni izzivi“,ki prinaša kritične razmisleke o odnosu med Cerkvijo in politiko – zlasti demokracijo – v sodobnem svetu. Po podrobni predstavitvi vsebine tega dokumenta v prvem delu prispevka teološka analiza v drugem delu izpostavlja glavna teološka na-čela za opredelitev odnosa med Cerkvijo in politiko – zlasti Cerkvijo in sodobno demokracijo – v skladu s tem dokumentom. Iz tega izhajajo nekateri zaključki o plodnem in družbeno relevantnem življenju kristjanov v sodobnem svetu (zlasti v demokratičnih sistemih), ki jih ponuja sodobna teologija.

• Keywords: demokracija, verski pluralizem, verska svoboda, Mednarodna teološka komisija