The Catholic Church’s Formula for Adaptation to Modernity and Contemporary Models of Secularism

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to assess the Catholic Church’s formula for adaptation to Modernity from the perspectives of contemporary models of Secularism. For this purpose, it will use the typology of Jacques Berlinerblau, with five models of Secularism (Separationism, Disestablishment, Laïcité, Accommodationism, and Atheistic Secularism). For some of these models, the Church’s formula will be found—to different extents—agreeable, while other models will regard it as hardly acceptable. The assessment will proceed by defining Modernity, outlining the Catholic Church’s formula for adaptation to modern ideas, and discussing five different models of Secularism.