The Church’s relationship with modern democracy and religious pluralism according to the document of the International Theological Commission “Religious freedom for the good of all” : a theological analysis and foundation of the document
Odnos Cerkve do sodobne demokracije in verskega pluralizma v skladu z dokumentom Mednarodne te-ološke komisije „Verska svoboda za dobro vseh“ : teološka analiza in temelji dokumenta

english

2025

volume 85, issue 2

democracy   International Theological Commission   religious freedom   religious pluralism

Univerza v Ljubljani, Teološka fakulteta
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

This paper explores how contemporary Catholic theology, in reflecting on the relationship between the Church and politics, especially modern de-mocracy, has remained faithful to the openness of the Council and Catholic doctrine towards the world and positive yet specific collaboration with state and political structures. It also examines whether new impulses and directives for the otherwise complex relationship between faith and politics emerge from it, given the changed circumstances of the modern world, especially the empha-sis on contemporary democracy and increasingly prominent religious pluralism. For this purpose, the paper deals with the theological analysis of the documentof the International Theological Commission, “Religious Freedom for the Good of All: Theological Approaches and Contemporary Challenges”, which presents critical reflections on the relationship between the Church and politics, espe-cially democracy, in the modern world. After a detailed presentation of the content of this document in the first part, the second part provides a theolo-gical analysis, pointing out the main theological principles for defining the re-lationship between the Church and politics, specifically the Church and con-temporary democracy, according to this document. From this, some conclusionsare drawn regarding the fruitful and socially relevant life of Christians in the modern world, especially within democratic systems, as suggested by contem-porary theology.

17.02.2026