Separation, Cooperation, and Human Dignity in Church-State Relations

Abstract

The Catholic understanding of the proper relation between church and state has developed in light of three interrelated principles. First, the separation principle requires that the state not interfere with the religious faith of individuals and communities. The principle also functions to ensure that the church does not unduly influence what properly belongs to the state’s secular jurisdiction. Second, the cooperation principle envisions a partnership between church and state. The principle recognizes that religious organizations often serve as providers of services that further the interests of individuals, communities, and the secular liberal state itself. Third, the principle of human dignity, and its correlative right of religious freedom, stem from the insight that the human person is a profoundly spiritual being. The balance of separation and cooperation remains vital to human dignity and religious freedom in church-state relations. Separation does not preclude cooperation between church and state, nor does cooperation necessarily compromise separation.