Table Of ContentInnovative Catholicism and
the Human Condition
Innovative Catholicism and the Human Condition gives an anthropologi-
cal account of a progressive religious movement in the Roman Catholic
Church that is attempting to reconcile religious conviction and reason and,
ergo, modify the human condition. Investigation is given to a representative
group of this movement, “Innovative Catholics,” who are endeavouring to
maintain the momentum for change which began in the 1960s and 1970s.
They now find themselves caught between traditional notions of religion
and a secularised society while trying to reconcile these polarising forces to
find a pathway forward. While ethnographic fieldwork for this research was
conducted in Australia, this movement is to be found across the Western
world. The research is framed by the question posed by Jürgen Habermas,
who asks whether the democratic constitutional state is able to renew
itself and recognises a benefit in learning from religion. Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger, subsequently Pope Benedict XVI, responds by asserting the need
for a common ethical basis and limits on reason. This latter position, how-
ever, remains problematic for Innovative Catholics who are conscious of
history and culture. The research explores how Innovative Catholics, who
in taking the middle position, inform this dialectic on secularisation through
their ideas and practices about the human condition.
Jane Anderson is a social anthropologist and honorary research fellow at
the University of Western Australia. She has undertaken research on clergy,
celibacy and sexuality, and ecclesial conflict.
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49 Innovative Catholicism and the Human Condition
Jane Anderson
Innovative Catholicism and
the Human Condition
Jane Anderson
First published 2016
by Routledge
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© 2016 Taylor & Francis
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has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Anderson, Jane (Jane Estelle), author.
Title: Innovative Catholicism and the human condition /
by Jane Anderson.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2016. | Series: Routledge studies
in religion ; 49 | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016003664 | ISBN 9781138654747 (alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Theological anthropology—Catholic Church. | Catholic
Church—History—1965– | Church renewal—Catholic Church. |
Christianity and culture. | Catholic Church—Doctrines. | Habermas,
Jèurgen. | Benedict XVI, Pope, 1927–
Classification: LCC BT701.3 .A535 2016 | DDC 282.09/045—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016003664
ISBN: 978-1-138-65474-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-62302-3 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To Gamaliel
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Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xi
Conventions xiii
1 The Research Project 1
2 Reconceptualising the Person 25
3 Revising the Self 50
4 Updating Identity 75
5 Modernising Morality 97
6 Adapting Governance 122
7 Reconfiguring Ritual 144
8 Scrutinising Worldviews 165
Conclusion 189
Index 193
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Preface
Innovative Catholicism is an anthropological account of an international
progressive religious movement in the Roman Catholic Church that is attempt-
ing to reconcile religious conviction with reason. While there are well-informed
accounts which provide analyses of this phenomenon, this book is the result
of the epic task of gathering and analysing qualitative data from the ethno-
graphic field. Investigation is given to a representative group of this move-
ment, which I refer to as “Innovative Catholics,” who have attempted to
maintain the momentum for change which began in the 1960s and 1970s.
They now find themselves caught between traditional notions of religion
and a secularised society while trying to reconcile these polarising forces to
find a pathway forward.
Although fieldwork for this research was conducted in Australia, this reli-
gious movement is to be found across the Western world. The transnational
scope of progressive action has one explanation in the difficulties which the
Church has had in coming to terms with the consequences of the Enlight-
enment. It locates its foundation in the divine figure of Jesus Christ and
considers many of its teachings to be eternal, immutable, and unchanging.
However, the Enlightenment, which gives primacy to reason, has provided
conditions for educated religious citizens, such as those who are the ethno-
graphic subjects of this research, to ask unsettling questions of the Church.
This progressive religious movement is well placed as a focus for exam-
ining a critical question that is being posed in religion and society. Jürgen
Habermas, a renowned sociologist and philosopher, raises the question as
to whether the democratic constitutional state is able to renew itself from
its own sources. In acknowledging its vulnerability to external threats to
secular society, he wonders whether there is a social benefit in learning
from religion. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, subsequently Pope Benedict XVI,
responded to this question in a dialectic on secularisation by asserting that
reason must learns its limits; that is, it cannot question that which has been
determined in a time before history. Nonetheless, this view remains prob-
lematic for modern citizens who emphasise rationality, as it does for the
research respondents. Examination is thus given to how Innovative Catho-
lics are attempting to resolve the dichotomy of views, the result of which
signals novel possibilities for reconciling religious conviction and reason.
