A professor of “Christian Social Ethics” at Jesuit Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia has suggested religious liberty should be added to the list of “culture war issues” that are used by ”neoliberals” (in the economic sense) who wish to divide Christians. He seems to warn that if the bishops continue their broad support of religious liberty, other (read: more important?) economic issues will get the short end of the stick.
Dr. Gerald Beyer writes for the National Catholic Reporter:
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has been sounding the alarm about the alleged attempt of the administration of President Barack Obama to destroy religious liberty. …
As Christian ethicist C. Melissa Snarr contends in her book on the living wage movement, neoliberals notoriously use “wedge issues,” commonly known as “culture war” issues, such as abortion and gay rights, to divide Christians who might otherwise stand together against the neoliberal economic agenda. Stoking racial tensions between workers of color and white workers has also been used in this way. Perhaps at this point, we should add religious liberty to the list. Religious liberty, of course, is a rightly cherished value — but we should be wary when it is used as a wedge issue or as an excuse for running roughshod over the rights of others. …
If the bishops want to continue to fight for religious liberty, it is incumbent upon them to recognize the ways in which the case for religious liberty is being abused. Where does the right to religious liberty end? Will the bishops, or other Catholic employers, argue that Catholic universities, even though they are formally corporations run by secular boards — which places them under the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Act — have the right to fire professors who do not attend Mass and go to confession? Should Catholic hospitals be able to fire employees who are openly gay? What about the conscience rights of those who disagree with Catholic doctrine? Do the bishops yearn for a return to the “error has no rights” era?
He then chides Catholic colleges for defending their religious liberty against the excesses of the National Labor Relations Board:
In a case involving Manhattan College and the National Labor Relations Board, the university’s administration claims that its ability to fulfill its mission as a religious institution is being hindered because the NLRB has rule it must allow its workers to unionize.
In other words, the argument is that allowing disgracefully underpaid adjuncts to unionize violates the religious liberty of this Catholic university. The Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities agrees with Manhattan College. However, anyone vaguely familiar with Catholic social teaching on worker justice recognizes the irony here. How can a Catholic institution claim its religious liberty is being threatened when Catholic teaching itself has unequivocally upheld the right to unionize?
The answer is money. It’s all about money.
For Beyer, it does indeed seem to be all about money. But the NLRB and HHS disputes aren’t about worker rights, they’re about federal agencies’ jurisdiction over Catholic institutions’ personnel decisions that may involve religious questions — and at a Catholic college or university, there ought to be many religious matters that affect hiring and employee policies. Beyer seems to equate the defense of religious liberty with economic liberalism, which is like equating the National Catholic Reporter’s “progressive” Catholicism with leftist politics… well, perhaps in that case it’s true. But you get the point.
This entire article is available at the National Catholic Reporter.
Adam Wilson
CNS Staff
Matthew Archbold
Charlotte Hays
6 Comments
Is “christian ethics” at a Jesuit institution the same as “Christian Ethics” at a truly Catholic institution? mmmmm? bpp
Perhaps the professor should revisit his ethics principles. There is such a thing as a just wage, a just strike etc. Just because gov’t,for example, has laws that may conflict with an institution’s abilty to exercise religious liberty doesn’t mean that one should give up their religious liberty. Perhaps it is the gov’t law/policy that is in error and therefore in conflict with the religious liberty of the institution. Yes, there are limits to religious liberty in the sense that if one proclaims that their religion allows/demands a person be put to death (e.g. Sharia Law & Honor killing), that would clearly be against U.S. law and would be seen as breaking the law. But in that case, the religion has seen fit to violate God’s Law.
When the NLRB prohibits a religious organization from requiring adherence to Church Teachings as part of the job requirement or prohibits a company from building a new plant in a right to work state, it is embracing policies that would be considered as bad law or bad policy. The Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of a religious organization and it’s requirements on their workers – albeit it had to do with the clery rather than a lay person worker. It would weem to me that one could argue that it needs to require adherence to Church Teachings from all its employees in order to carry out its mission. Lord knows, many Catholics have been lead astray by errant professors in a Catholic University.
Read original article and left the following comment:
This entire article and the greater majority of the commentors all come from a world view that refuses to acknowledge the Catholic Churches’ teaching arm the Magisterium which receives its authority from the continuous guidance of the Holy Spirit – a promise from Jesus to be with us until the end of time. It is our Faith and our dogma that we adhere to when we are asked to violate our consciences. The disrespect for the Church’s hierarchy including our Holy Father in some of the comments clearly points to a long held bias. All of the so-called experts called upon and quoted by this author are from the Far Left social justice crowd. Do the bishops or for that matter any Catholic hope to get a fair hearing when it comes to our Faith? Proverty level in this country is a misnomer at best and as someone pointed out infant mortality includes 4000 abortions a week. If you have your figures wrong in some areas, maybe we should suspect you have some figures wrong or misleading in other areas. Constantine is long gone. Look to a recent article written in 2010 – SAM MILLER, A JEW, OFFERS AN AMAZING DEFENSE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES April 9, 2010 . Google it and read for yourselves if you want the truth.
Outstanding note. Note that Dr Beyer worries about firing professors not going to mass or communion and teachers who don’t believe in Catholic Doctrine but I see no evidence of that what is seen is allowing the Vagina Chronicles on campus, avowed homosexual activists who participated joyfully (a great moment in my life) in the desecration of the Eucharist at St Patricks Cathedral being invited to teach at a Catholic college, inviting leaders in the proabortion movement to speak at Catholic colleges. Does Ex Corde have any meaning to Dr Beyer or is it just background noise in the daily activities and programs of institutions calling themselves Catholic–by their choice.
“Where does the right to religious liberty end?” The answer should be, “it does not ever end.” That is the premise upon which this country was founded. I believe an excellent place to begin would be to remove professors who are not faithful to the Church and allow them the “cultural freedom” to teach at an institution that has no moral underpinnings.
If adjunct professors are not happy with their pay, they are certainly free to convince another college that they are worth more. Adjuncts are most often supplementing their full-time pay at another job. No unionization needed.
True Catholic colleges need to take a long, hard look at themselves and recognize that their hiring practices have contributed substantially to the chaos that passes for education on their campuses today. It is a sorry commentary on the willingness of Church authorities to recognize the decades of attacks upon the Church and their ineffectual leadership.
The answer and direction to this issue is very simple…..FOLLOW THE BIBLE TEACHINGS. Get it? If not, you should seek mental help Neo Liberals CINO members. No, we don’t need you in this faith trying to distort the teachings of our Faith. Perversion is Perversion by any name.