Historical Context of Vatican II

Abstract

Abstract The connection between church history and secular history is not unique to the 1900s, but it is particularly important in order to understand the nature of the Second Vatican Council. This chapter situates the council in the political and social history of the twentieth century. The social and political situation after the world wars and post-colonial global Catholicism cannot be separated from the preparation, celebration, and early reception of Vatican II. This chapter opens with a look at the early twentieth century and the period between the two world wars, with an emphasis on the confrontation between Catholicism and the political ideologies of the 1920s and 1930s. A second section talks about the effects of the Second World War on post-war attitudes of Catholics towards social and political issues. A third section addresses the relationship between Catholicism and the Cold War and decolonization until the eve of the council. A final section looks at the globalization of Catholicism from the beginning of the post-colonial world that is contemporary with the celebration of Vatican II.