Nulla Proportio in Concordantia: Catholic Political Theology and the Mystery of Consensus
The main question in this article is whether there is room for a genuine Catholic political theology in a contemporary liberal society. Catholic political theology faces the dilemma that it is either opposed to the autonomy of the political sphere as it has been given shape in liberal society by its...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
[2020]
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| In: |
Modern theology
Year: 2020, Volume: 36, Issue: 1, Pages: 124-137 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Nicholas of Cusa 1401-1464
/ Catholic social teaching
/ Political theology
/ Liberalism
/ Apologetics
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| IxTheo Classification: | KAF Church history 1300-1500; late Middle Ages KDB Roman Catholic Church NAB Fundamental theology NCC Social ethics |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | The main question in this article is whether there is room for a genuine Catholic political theology in a contemporary liberal society. Catholic political theology faces the dilemma that it is either opposed to the autonomy of the political sphere as it has been given shape in liberal society by its totality claim, or that it is not, and thereby loses its plausibility as it does in the case of Catholic Social Teaching. The authors of this article assume that there is a way out of the dilemma, namely by applying the fundamental theological concept of locus theologicus' to political theology. By viewing the political as a locus theologicus, the question arises: Which political aspects of the theological tradition could qualify as having a critical function in modern liberal society? The proposal in this article is to consider Nicholas of Cusa's theory of finding consensus. Cusa developed this theory during and in response to the Council of Basel (1431-1449) in his book De concordantia catholica. The experience of consensus is viewed in this text as an apophatic confirmation of God in the performance of political authority. The way in which Cusa develops the idea of consensus is in sharp contrast with modern liberal thinkers such as John Rawls. Cusa's theory shares a resemblance with those of modern critics of consensus such as Chantal Mouffe and Jacques Rancière. While these authors do not formulate their criticism theologically, once brought into conversation with Cusa, one can find opportunities of seeing the mystery of consensus as a theological critique. |
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| ISSN: | 1468-0025 |
| Reference: | Kritik in "Response to Stephan van Erp and Inigo Bocken (2020)"
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Modern theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/moth.12584 |