Last Updated:Friday - 09/24/2010

Shedding more light on Day

The entry of Alberta cabinet minister Stockwell Day into the race for the leadership of the Canadian Conservative Reform Alliance has put the spotlight on the relationship between faith and politics in a way that hasn't happened in recent Canadian history. Day has taken his lumps from a skeptical Central Canadian media as well as from extremist demonstrators chanting: "Stockwell Day, make my day; Right-wing bigot go away."

Day, for his part, has seemed to be operating with a double standard. On one hand, he has been unabashed in saying that faith should encompass all of life, plainly implying that this includes how he would run the country if he became prime minister. Yet he has also been uncomfortable with his religious views being a matter for public scrutiny. It would seem that in a pluralist democracy like Canada, he can't have it both ways.

Day, were he so inclined, might benefit from boning up on the Second Vatican Council's Church in the Modern World and Pope John Paul's 1991 encyclical Centesimus Annus. Whatever he thinks of the authority behind this teaching, he would certainly find them thoughtful reflections on the relationships among faith, morality and society.

Catholics see the Ten Commandments as God's law, but not as a law God arbitrarily imposed on humanity by carving them on stone tablets and handing them to Moses on Mount Sinai. There's nothing arbitrary about the Commandments. They spell out a direction for life, peace and happiness for all individuals as well as for society. You don't have to accept Jewish or Christian revelation in order to accept the necessity of a moral code similar to the Commandments as essential to human well-being.

The "natural law" is written on the human heart and was given to us at creation. It is based on natural human inclinations such as those to preserve our lives, have children, live in society and know the truth. But there are also ways of acting responsibly: we should be faithful to our commitments, not make one law for oneself and another for others, be efficient in pursuing the goals of our lives and never use a bad means to obtain a good end.

Even without the Bible, we could know all this. God's revelation on Mount Sinai is important, however, because it drives the point home and because it provides an easily remembered code against which we can judge our own actions.

From a Catholic perspective, bringing morality into politics need not involve the imposition of a theocracy. Rather, a moral code helps society live in accord with what is good for humanity. It's good for Christians who understand and respect natural law to seek public office. But people of other faiths and no faith can also have such understanding and respect and make a contribution.

In the organization of society, the basic alternatives are not morality vs. freedom; they are morality vs. unrestricted self-interest. Freedom can only flourish in an environment where the vast majority of people not only obey the law, but also lead basically good lives. When morality breaks down, laws will not be enough to save our freedom. But when people are concerned about the common good, then fair and just laws will enhance the freedom of all.

Indeed, as much as some say they don't want politics mixed with morality, all political judgments are rooted in some notion of what is morally good. The question that needs to be addressed is not whether some politician is bringing morality into politics, but rather whether his or her notion of morality is adequate.

Day's political judgments thus need to be scrutinized in the light of natural law. It's his political judgments, not his Pentecostal theology, which is up for public debate. That's not to say weaknesses in that theology will not lead to corresponding weaknesses in his political opinions. But inadequate public policy positions can be fully analyzed by the use of right reason without attacking his religious beliefs. It's his political stances, not his religious beliefs, which are the fitting object of public scrutiny.

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