The Positive Role of Religion in a Liberal Democracy

One hundred years after the American experiment began, Abraham Lincoln asked whether a nation "conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" could "long endure." More than a hundred years have passed since then, and the country has survived two World Wars, The Depression, and the Cold War. However, the nation has also experienced a massive influx of immigrants from both the East and the West. In addition to this, developments in technology, communication, and leisure time have challenged man to understand his ability to be free. The Second Vatican Council emphasized this point: "Man is growing conscious that the forces he has unleashed are in his own hands, and that it is up to him to control them or be enslaved by them. Here lies the modern dilemma."¹ Lincoln's question is once again relevant today: "Can a democratic nation that is conceived in liberty, yet possesses so many diverse opinions and technological advancements, long endure?" In this paper, I will attempt to show that a liberal democracy can long endure if it promotes virtue and truth; historically, it is religion that has promoted virtue through ensuring a strong family life.

In the nineteenth century Lord Acton wrote: "Liberty is not the power of doing what we like, but the right of being able to do what we ought." This understanding about the proper sense of liberty is crucial in answering Lincoln's question. Acton's statement makes the basic distinction between liberty and license: Liberty is "the right of being able to do what we ought" and license is "the power of doing what we like." The difference between the two is that liberty possesses a moral implication, what one "ought" to do, whereas license does not. The importance of the distinction lies in the fact that people today rightly place great value on freedom. Unfortunately, freedom is too often equated solely with license, thereby ignoring any morality. Pope John Paul II addresses this issue in Veritatis Splendor:

In the words of Lord Acton, freedom could become "the power of doing what we like."

Freedom then, properly understood, is the "right of doing what we ought." It is a guaranteed ability to choose without coercion what is true and just. Freedom and truth are, therefore, intimately linked. In his address to the United Nations in 1995, John Paul II stated:

He has also written: "This essential bond of truth-good-liberty is largely lost in contemporary culture, and therefore today it is one of the proper tasks of the mission of the church for the salvation of the world to lead people back to seeing this union."⁴ Determining truth is, therefore, a pivotal part of any free and democratic society.

With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, liberal democracy has become the acceptable form of government in the modern world. As a system of government, it is based on a written constitution and self-evident individual rights, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Beyond a constitution, however, it can become confusing for the nation to determine truth because a democracy, by definition, is "value-neutral," inasmuch as it does not impose an ideology.⁵

For example, what about the legitimacy of same-sex marriages? Nowhere in the Constitution is this issue addressed. Nevertheless, this does not imply that society should be without virtue. In a properly ordered democracy, its citizens deliberate over the issue and then vote by a referendum or through legislativerepresentatives. In his evaluation of the American experiment, Tocqueville was concerned that, without any regard for truth, the "tyranny of the majority" would decide the law. Therefore, inherent in a democratic system is this potential error: Freedom as the highest norm determines truth, and thereby can distort truth. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia expressed this point in an address at the Gregorian Pontifical University in Rome. In a response to a questioner who asked about the rights of minorities, Scalia stated, "The whole theory of democracy, my dear fellow, is that the majority rules; that is the whole theory of it. You protect minorities only because the majority determines that there are certain minority positions that deserve protection."⁶

Because a liberal democracy functions in this manner, three major transgressions occur. The first is that decisions about moral issues are decided pragmatically.⁷ For example, the discussion of abortion by the government rarely focuses on the moral question of when it is permissible to take a human life. Instead, it takes a more practical approach, such as, "Abortions will happen in any case; they should be made 'safe,'" or "A woman should have the freedom to choose privately." In a recent statement about the legality of partial-birth abortion, President Clinton stated this exact point: "This is not a pro-life, pro-choice issue. To me this is a practical problem."⁸

The second result is that private interest groups and lobbying firms have a powerful influence on determining public policy in the legislature.⁹ Laws are not made according to what is ethically right or wrong but according to the pressures of the strongest lobbying organization. In a recent lecture, Avery Dulles spoke about how liberal democracy can be reduced to a mere conglomeration of political associations: "...[T]he procedural republic does not offer adequate foundations for a healthy self-governing society. It creates a moral void. Political association sinks to the level of a mere coalition in which the members are not inspired by any shared vision of the good."¹⁰

The third effect is that beyond the Constitution there are no guiding principles to help determine the society's values. When freedom is the highest guiding principle, tolerance becomes the greatest good. There is no right or wrong, only complete acceptance. Virtues such as courage, prudence, patience, and justice are enacted into laws only if the people feel they ought to be. Ultimately, a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people" is only as virtuous as its members. This is why James Madison wrote in The Federalist Papers that the United States' version of democracy requires a higher degree of virtue in its citizens than does any other form of government.¹¹

How does a liberal democracy, such as the United States, instill in its citizens a shared vision of the common good? How does it develop civic virtue among the people so that they, in turn, vote for just laws and virtuous leaders? One difficulty with this question is where to begin. Virtues once considered commonplace by American standards are no longer so prevalent. For example, respect for adults, marital fidelity, and parental responsibility are not as common as they once were.¹² Nonetheless, children need to learn these virtues along with self-control, courage, loyalty, and the ability to exercise their freedom with responsibility. The United States relies on many organizations to foster these virtues, such as schools, local government, and community groups. Historically, however, religion has played the largest role in promoting a society of free and responsible individuals through ensuring a strong family life.

Tocqueville states that although religion does not directly steer the government of the United States, it is still appropriately the foremost political institution in American politics. The separation of church and state keeps religion from becoming directly involved, "...but it directs the manners of the community, and by regulating domestic life, it regulates the state."¹³ Tocqueville's point is that churches do this by inspiring a strong family life. It is in the home where a man and woman find their joy and peace, which is then spread into the community. "...[T]he American derives from his own home that love of order, which he afterwards carries with him into public affairs."¹⁴

In fact, many modern liberal thinkers are coming to the same conclusion that the future of the liberal democracy is dependent upon the stability of the family.¹⁵ The Christian tradition has always stated its support for the family because God has ordained through the natural law that all people be raised by a mother and a father. Marriage is viewed in the Christian tradition as a sacrifice of one's personal desires for the good of one's spouse, children, and ultimately for the good of society.¹⁶ Religion promotes family life through prayer, counseling, encouragement, and the preaching of the Gospel. Pope John Paul II emphasizes the Catholic Church's position in Centesimus Annus:

Families today, however, have an even higher divorce rate than in previous times. Fewer and fewer children are being raised in a two-parent home. Expressing his concern for these children the Pope has written: "When he has no family, the person coming into the world develops an anguished sense of pain and loss, one which subsequently burdens his whole life."¹⁸ Children in this situation will possess a greater difficulty developing their full potential and becoming well-integrated citizens. Ultimately, this situation could jeopardize the future of the entire nation. With its strong emphasis on family unity, religion is capable of playing a positive role in reversing this negative trend.

The United States, as a liberal democracy, faces a unique opportunity in history. It is no longer subject to the political and economic policy restrictions that it faced during the Cold War. It is both an economic and military world leader and no longer possesses a common external enemy. Now the nation's enemy is primarily from within, and its destiny resides in its own hands. In a certain sense, the American experiment really begins now. Can our liberal democracy effectively function as a system of government? The answer lies in how we will articulate the relationship between freedom and truth. Will freedom become a vehicle for the promotion of virtue and a strong family life, or will freedom degenerate into a form of license? As Tocqueville observed, from the inception of the United States, religion has played an extremely important role in fostering and securing a society of free and responsible individuals. Today, churches proclaim the same message: With freedom comes the obligation to choose what is true and just. Only if this message reaches the hearts of the citizenry will the American experiment "long endure."

Greg Markey, a native of Ridgefield, Connecticut, graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a major in political science. He studied pre-theology at Saint John Fisher Seminary and is currently pursuing his Master's in theology at Mount Saint Mary's Seminary. He hopes to be ordained for the diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and after ordination he plans to continue his education at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family.