A response to Gary D. Glenn and his distortion of history
Dear Editor,
This letter is in response to an article, “IS SECULARISM THE END OF LIBERALISM? REFLECTIONS ON EUROPE’S DEMOGRAPHIC DECLINE DRAWING ON POPE BENEDICT, HABERMAS, NIETZSCHE AND STRAUSS,” that was authored by Gary D. Glenn and published by The Catholic Social Science Review.
The author of this article repeatedly implies that democracy – its values and practices, including its individualism – are values that are grounded in the Christian tradition. Whether cognizant of Christian doctrine or not, Europeans continue to incorporate Christianity into their ethical constructions. As a consequence, secularist Europeans have not resorted to what the author refers to as a Nietzschean depravity, where the strong can abuse the weak with impunity.
Leaving aside Professor Glenn’s altogether vulgar interpretation of Nietzsche, who was not interested in effecting a ruthless, violent social condition – but, rather, a state where man was not captive to the self-loathing, persistently self-doubting Christian ethic, which is tantamount to a slave morality – ??the educated reader of this article surely takes umbrage to the Pope’s claim, as reported by Glenn, that Christianity is the incubator of democracy and egalitarianism.
The problems with such an assertion are so abundant that it would be exhaustive to enumerate all of them.?? However, one contrast that is apparently striking is the social structure assumed by the Roman Catholic Church, itself. The hierarchical structure of the Church seems to be expressed by the positions it takes in respect to Human Rights. Keep in mind that liberationist Theology was condemned by the Catholic Church, who saw the movement as political, not religious. Such an unholy Holy position on the part of the Catholic establishment is right in line with the proverb, “Turn the other cheek:” an expression that is demonstrative of Catholicism’s lack of concern for social injustice.
On a final note, I take exception to the thinly veiled racism expressed in this article. The author suggests that Muslims and their religion of Islam is lacking in the qualities necessary to sustain democratic traditions in Western Europe. In response to this bigotry, I would add that Christianity, which has nothing to do with democracy, was successfully overcome by Enlightenment thinkers, who conceived of many of the intellectual tenets that would be integrated into the democratic ideology. As a final note, the Enlightenment entailed the rejection of the prejudices and superstitions propagated by Christianity. The only connection between Christianity and the Enlightenment was the Enlightenment’s rejection of Christianity.
Best Regards,
Russell Cole
