Innovative Catholicism and the Human Condition

• Main Author: Anderson, Jane (auth)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 2016
• Series: Routledge Studies in Religion
• Subjects: Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church; Christianity; Christian life & practice; Australia; authentic self; autocratic governance; Communitas; celebrancy; classical morality; Eucharistic interpretations; eco-spirituality; emotional reflexivity; ethnography; human condition; innovative Catholicism; Jane Anderson; Joseph Ratzinger; Jürgen Habermas; moral conflicts; Pope Benedict XVI; Pope Francis; parish governance; postconciliar papcies; preconciliar era; progressive Catholicism; Roman Catholic Church; reflexivity; religious identity; secularisation; secularization; secular society; social advocacy; spiritual reflexivity
• Online Access: OAPEN Library: download the publication; OAPEN Library: description of the publication

Innovative Catholicism and the Human Condition gives an anthropological account of a progressive religious movement in the Roman Catholic Church that is attempting to reconcile religious conviction and reason, and, ergo, modify the human condition. Investigation is given to a representative group of this movement, "Innovative Catholics," who are endeavouring to maintain the momentum for change which began in the 1960s and 1970s. They now find themselves caught between traditional notions of religion and a secularised society, while trying to reconcile these polarising forces to find a pathway forward. While ethnographic fieldwork for this research was conducted in Australia, this movement is to be found across the Western world. The research is framed by the question posed by Jürgen Habermas, who asks whether the democratic constitutional state is able to renew itself, and recognises a benefit in learning from religion. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, subsequently Pope Benedict XVI, responds by asserting the need for a common ethical basis and limits on reason. This latter position, however, remains problematic for Innovative Catholics who are conscious of history and culture. The research explores how Innovative Catholics, who in taking the middle position, inform this dialectic on secularization through their ideas and practices about the human condition.