Postsecular Catholicism: Relevance and Renewal

About this book

The Catholic Church faces the challenge of maintaining its relevance in an increasingly secularized society. On issues ranging from sexuality and gender equality to economic policy and social welfare the church hierarchy is frequently out-of-step with Catholics and non-Catholics alike. In Postsecular Catholicism Michele Dillon argues that the Churchs relevance is increasingly contingent on its ability to incorporate secular experiences and expectations into the articulation of the Churchs teachings. Informed by the postsecular notion that religious and secular actors should recognize their mutual relevance in contemporary society Dillon examines how secular realities and church doctrine intersect in American Catholicism. She shows that the Churchs 21st-century commitment to institutional renewal has been amplified by Pope Franciss vision of public Catholicism and his accessible language and intellectual humility. Combining wide-ranging survey data with a rigorous examination of Franciss statements on economic inequality climate change LGBT rights and womens ordination the highly consequential Vatican Synod on the Family and the US Bishops religious freedom campaign Postsecular Catholicism assesses the initiatives and strategies impacting the Churchs relevance in the contemporary world.