The Christian lay faithful and the world of politics

The Christian lay faithful are all those members of the Church who, by virtue of their Baptism, are united to Christ, and thereby share in his priestly, prophetic, and kingly mission. But what specifically defines the Christian lay vocation and sets it apart from the rest of the Christian faithful, is its “secular character.” This means that the Christian layman’s proper vocation is chiefly carried out in and through his involvement in the temporal affairs of this world.  

How is the Christian layperson to do this? The Christian layperson, if he is faithful to his vocation, must be deeply involved in the affairs of this world, but in a Christian manner. On the one hand, the Christian layperson engages in the same kinds of activities as his non-believing counterpart: family life, work, education, politics, the arts and sciences, cultural activities, and the like. On the other hand, because of the sources of grace and instruction available to him from the Church, the Christian layperson can engage in these things in a rightly ordered way. This takes nothing away from the natural character of these activities but instead first refers to the transformation that takes place in the layman himself. In this way, the Christian layperson can then have a transformative influence over earthly affairs, in a manner that still respects their intrinsic nature, laws, and values. 

One major area of lay involvement is the world of politics. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, human beings are by nature more social and political than any other creature.1 Unlike animals that naturally have all they need to flourish, things like food immediately available for eating, fur for covering, speed for flight, and horns for defense, human beings are much more dependent upon each other to live productive and fulfilling lives. By forming communities, individual persons can specialize in certain tasks and then depend upon other specialists in the community for their other needs. Even more than physical needs, living in society with other people enhances the moral and intellectual lives of human beings so they can truly flourish.  

But according to Aquinas, man is not only social but also political by nature. The natural human desire for some kind of governing structure emerges from living in community with others. Since it is natural to live in community, it is necessary for there to be some means by which the group is governed. Human communities need a ruling authority to establish justice, maintain peace, protect individual rights, and promote the common good. Without a political authority to govern the community, the people would be scattered and divided, each looking out for his own interests.  

With this background in mind, it is clear that Christians have a “dual citizenship.” By grace, Christians are members of the Church and the Kingdom of God, and by nature are members of the earthly kingdom, that is, the political community. While there is a distinction between life in the Church and life as a member of the political community, there cannot be a separation, or else Christians would become divided beings, filled with contradictions, inconsistencies, and hypocrisies. As the Second Vatican Council teaches, this separation of faith and life is to be rejected as one of the gravest errors of our age (Gaudium et Spes 43). One cannot, for example, justify a professed faith conviction in the sanctity of human life and then publicly support abortion. At the same time, the Council teaches that the political order has a certain autonomy that must be respected, with its own intrinsic nature, laws, and purpose. While the Christian faith aims at attaining eternal life with God in heaven, the purpose of the political community is to promote the common good in this life. Unlike other religions, which either absorb all political life like Islamic sharia law or ancient Israel’s Old Law, or which shun political life altogether as in Buddhism, Catholic Christianity is unique insofar as it is a transpolitical religion. From a Catholic perspective, our Christian faith informs and guides our reason so that we can make wise political judgments, but it does not take it over.  

The Christian lay faithful are called by God to be involved in politics and transform it from within, by bringing to the political arena a Christian spirit and ordering it according to God’s will. Unlike other areas of secular life, everyone is called to participate in the political arena in some fashion, because human beings are political by nature. In a democratic republic like ours, this entails things like having a well-formed conscience, making sure to vote, getting involved in a political party, contacting and holding legislators accountable for their positions, being reasonably informed on the issues, and serving in public office. It also means fighting to uphold the moral order in our laws to protect and support the unborn, the aged, the infirm, families, the poor, and the marginalized.  

The Catholic lay faithful have a grave responsibility to be involved in politics in some manner and bring to it a Christian spirit. In the words of an ancient Christian author describing the ordinary lay Christian’s duty to transform the world from within, “Such is the important position to which God has appointed them, and it is not right for them to decline it” (Letter to Diognetus, Ch. 6).