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Neil_Anthony
Guest
Does anyone know what political issues came up in the last couple of centuries that were hot-button issues for Catholic voters and politicians?
Nowadays for Catholics the big political issues that are directly relevant to our beliefs are abortion and gay marriage. We believe that these issues are so important that they override any other consideration about the candidates. But I’m wondering if these issues are really special and unique in history.
Has the history of politics been filled with hot issues like that where Catholics had to place church teaching above any other political consideration? And in 50 years will we have just forgotten about these issues and accepted them as a normal part of secular society, or are they really as serious as we believe?
To understand that, I think we have to look at what religious issues Catholics have had to consider in the past:
Sunday shopping is an issue that comes to mind for me. I know that for most people on this forum, living in the United States, this was dealt with a long time ago and has been long forgotten. Most Americans that I’ve talked to think it makes perfect sense for stores to be allowed to open on Sunday, because society is not controlled by one religion. However, just 20 years ago or so in Canada, this was a very hot issue for Christians when the Sunday shopping laws were struck down.
Does anyone know of any other examples that are relevant? Were Catholics opposed to the American revolution because of the Divine Right of Kings? Did Catholics have to vote for anti-pornography and pro-censorship politicians?
Nowadays for Catholics the big political issues that are directly relevant to our beliefs are abortion and gay marriage. We believe that these issues are so important that they override any other consideration about the candidates. But I’m wondering if these issues are really special and unique in history.
Has the history of politics been filled with hot issues like that where Catholics had to place church teaching above any other political consideration? And in 50 years will we have just forgotten about these issues and accepted them as a normal part of secular society, or are they really as serious as we believe?
To understand that, I think we have to look at what religious issues Catholics have had to consider in the past:
Sunday shopping is an issue that comes to mind for me. I know that for most people on this forum, living in the United States, this was dealt with a long time ago and has been long forgotten. Most Americans that I’ve talked to think it makes perfect sense for stores to be allowed to open on Sunday, because society is not controlled by one religion. However, just 20 years ago or so in Canada, this was a very hot issue for Christians when the Sunday shopping laws were struck down.
Does anyone know of any other examples that are relevant? Were Catholics opposed to the American revolution because of the Divine Right of Kings? Did Catholics have to vote for anti-pornography and pro-censorship politicians?