PHIL 630 Church and State in Catholic Political Thought

This course explores one of the central themes of Catholic political thought: the relationship between temporal and spiritual authority. Beginning with early formulations of the problem such as Pope Gelasius's "two swords," we will examine the diverse ways in which seminal Catholic thinkers such as Aquinas, Giles of Rome, John of Paris, James of Viterbo, Bellarmine, and Su rez theorized the relationship of ecclesiastical to political power, and we will contrast their views with those of the Protestant Reformers and Enlightenment thinkers such as Locke. Having surveyed these pre-modern and early modern sources, we will then look at key 19th and early 20th century papal documents on the church-state question, as well as influential proponents of reform in the pre-conciliar period such as Maritain and Murray. Finally, we will conclude with a study of the Second Vatican Council's declaration on religious liberty, contemporary debates concerning its interpretation, and the relationship of church and state in the thought of post-conciliar popes including John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. Throughout the course, close reading of the primary source texts along with key secondary literature will be emphasized, and we will pay particular attention to the issue of historical continuity and discontinuity within the Catholic tradition of reflection on the church-state question.