Liberals, Modernists and Progressivists
by Atila S. Guimarães
I have been asked to point out the differences among Liberal Catholics, Modernists, and Progressivists, since these terms have been used in the United States in a way that is inter-changeable and can lead to confusion. Liberalism, Modernism and Progressivism, in a certain sense, are like grandparent, father and son of the same family. Let me explain.
The liberal accepts the principles of the French Revolution which installed the Modern State
Liberal in the ideological spectrum has little to do with liberal as a synonymn of generous, magnanimous, munificent, which are original meanings - good to know in order to set them aside when dealing with modern Liberalism.
Ideologically speaking, a liberal is, in a general sense, any person who accepted the principles of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution – Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. Liberal is a term that comes from the acceptation of that revolutionary liberty. By extension, the liberal accepted other consequences of the French Revolution, such as the separation of Church and State, secular education for children and youth, civil marriages, and mainly, the idea that equal status should be given to all religions before the civil law.
In that historical phase, the term liberal Catholic applied to those who accepted the French Revolution and swore fidelity to the Modern State born from it. Thus, the French ecclesiastics who swore fidelity to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy were Liberal Catholics. The term evolved, and took on a broader meaning. Liberal Catholics became those who – without taking any formal oath – accepted the principles specified above, and assimilated them as a part of their mentality. In this light, liberal Catholics would accept the principle of the sovereignty of the people as mandatory for any political regime; hence, they would accept that the democracy which issued from the French Revolution would be a legitimate system of government, or even the only legitimate one.
(For the rest of this excellent artivle see link above in its title)
I have been asked to point out the differences among Liberal Catholics, Modernists, and Progressivists, since these terms have been used in the United States in a way that is inter-changeable and can lead to confusion. Liberalism, Modernism and Progressivism, in a certain sense, are like grandparent, father and son of the same family. Let me explain.
The liberal accepts the principles of the French Revolution which installed the Modern State
Liberal in the ideological spectrum has little to do with liberal as a synonymn of generous, magnanimous, munificent, which are original meanings - good to know in order to set them aside when dealing with modern Liberalism.
Ideologically speaking, a liberal is, in a general sense, any person who accepted the principles of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution – Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. Liberal is a term that comes from the acceptation of that revolutionary liberty. By extension, the liberal accepted other consequences of the French Revolution, such as the separation of Church and State, secular education for children and youth, civil marriages, and mainly, the idea that equal status should be given to all religions before the civil law.
In that historical phase, the term liberal Catholic applied to those who accepted the French Revolution and swore fidelity to the Modern State born from it. Thus, the French ecclesiastics who swore fidelity to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy were Liberal Catholics. The term evolved, and took on a broader meaning. Liberal Catholics became those who – without taking any formal oath – accepted the principles specified above, and assimilated them as a part of their mentality. In this light, liberal Catholics would accept the principle of the sovereignty of the people as mandatory for any political regime; hence, they would accept that the democracy which issued from the French Revolution would be a legitimate system of government, or even the only legitimate one.
(For the rest of this excellent artivle see link above in its title)
posted by Br. Alexis Bugnolo at 3/01/2006 05:57:00 PM
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