The Church in Globalization: a World-Systems Analysis on the Influence of Liberalism in Modern Catholic Social Thought
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The Church in Globalization: A World-Systems Analysis on the Influence of Liberalism in Modern Catholic Social Thought Andrew Pump Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctorate in Philosophy degree in Religious Studies Department of Classics and Religious Studies Faculty of Arts University of Ottawa © Andrew Pump, Ottawa, Canada, 2016 ii Abstract It is within the realm of the international civil society that religions play out their important public roles as charities and advocacy organizations in globalization. World governance models in the post-Cold War era stress the important role that civil society plays in building and sustaining democracy. Indeed, the participation of the Catholic Church in the "third wave of democratization" confirms this. Yet, twenty-five years after the collapse of international socialism, problems with American-led models of development have come to the fore in glaring ways. Growing wealth inequality and what Gayatri Spivak calls "sustainable underdevelopment" are the norm, and these problems highlight the dangers and instability of liberal economic policies. Religious organizations, and proponents of the Catholic social tradition in particular, have been the strongest voices for advocating social justice and advancing policies that pursue "the common good." Both working to alleviate poverty as charities ([i]NGOs and FBOs) and using their voices as a "public religion" (José Casanova) in civil society, Catholic institutions navigate the historically constructed and contingent boundaries among the three spheres of the state, the market, and civil society. Studying this interplay has provided fruitful theories deconstructing the religious/secular binary. In light of these theories, this thesis applies the critique of liberalism supplied by world-systems analysis to the development of Catholic social thought, in the process highlighting a complex history of complicity and dissent with U.S. liberalism's unfolding hegemony. In circulating Catholic social thought through the economic focused paradigm of world-systems analysis, I explore the possibilities of seeing religion and globalization outside a culturally focused framework. How the social magisterium is responding to the problems of economic globalization in an increasingly unstable world will affect its future legitimacy. I explore where the Church has been and its capacity to be a continuingly proactive force for "social justice" and "the common good." iii Acknowledgements This work would not have been possible without the love of my parents, Ed and Annie; without whose continuous support this thesis could not have been written. My sisters Sonya and Shaina, my niece Cameron, and my nephews Devin, Bradley, Gavin, and Caden continue to inspire hope in my life. While all my extended family have contributed to helping this thesis toward completion in their own ways, my cousin Ursula and her family have been a great help and role model to me during my years in Ottawa. My last two roommates — my colleague Qamer Hameed and her partner Brian, and Matthew Hunter — have given me the two years of stability necessary to write. And I want to thank my current roomates Amy Clanfield and my partner Yashraj Khale for being my queer family. My colleague and friend, Steven Tomlins, has been amazingly supportive as we struggled together through our degrees. Terren Thorne, Luke Callaghan, and Jason Miller have been the greatest friends a person could ask for, and have always been there throughout these long years. Eric Weichel helped me navigate the queer world of academia. Vito Michienzi, who has been a close friend since our undergraduate degrees, and his partner Renee, have shown me how to put theological justice into practice while building a life and family. My late friend Tony Hamlin, who lost his battle to cystic fibrosis during my PhD, has taught me the courage of living an exciting and different life. I also want to thank my friend Marie Gignac who has helped me through some of the hardest times and helped in the editing of this work. I would also like to thank the faculty, administration, and my colleagues in the Classics and Religious Studies department at the University of Ottawa, whose patience, understanding and friendship, have guided me over these many years. Particularly Cameron Montgomery; Alyshea Cummings; Sabrina Higgins; Heather Barkman and her partner Sid; Scott Craig and his partner Marissa; Michael Rucker; and in this last year particularly, Stacie Swain. Peter Beyer was instrumental in suggesting to me the work of Immanuel Wallerstein, whose work on world- systems theory helped tie together all the disperate work I had collected over the years on economics and globalization. Heather Eaton first introduced me to feminist and liberation theology during my undergraduate degree at St. Paul University over a decade ago, and this work has given me a life and faith oriented toward justice. Carolyn Sharp and Pamela Dickey Young also played a significant role in this shaping of a life, particularly the way Dr. Sharp taught me Catholic sexual ethics and how both of them guided me in the learning of LGBTQ-positive Christian ethics. These three have taught me how to live with the "irresolvable tension" characteristic of the struggle for justice in a fragile and flawed world and its frail institutions. I was also supported in the shaping of an academic life in faith by the late Fr. Ronald Young. My friends Mickey Amato, Souleyman Haggar, Dan Harrison, Nick Pullen, Emilie Tobin, Jesse Lee Wallace, and Cassandra Woods have shown me friendship and support over the years, and have been role models in how to build a life in the face of challenges "one day at a time." iv Of course, I want to acknowledge my thesis supervisor Naomi Goldenberg, whose style, passion, fun, and experience have taught me how to make teaching exciting and learning engaging. Working with her and her students has probably been the biggest highlight of my PhD. I would also like to thank Emma Anderson and Anne Vallely who taught me that undergraduate students in large classrooms are not just numbers. The care and concern that these two show their students is truly an inspiration; it was an amazing learning experience being their teaching assistant. The work of Gayatri Chakrovorty Spivak has been the largest influence in my academic life, and although I wasn't able to substantially place her work in the thesis, only little bits here and there, the spirit of her work pervades the entire text. Her work highlighted for me the importance of humanities education for cultivating a will for social justice in the general public. To Spivak, humanities education represents a "slow cooking of the soul, not the instant soup of a one-size- fits-all [NGO-style education] toolkit." My experience over these last thirteen years, living within the "irresolvable tension" and slow learning of the humanities and social sciences, has proven this insight. I also want to thank the parish of St. Joe's in Ottawa for bring a truly inclusive Catholic community. Fr. Richard Baudette has been a great friend and support in this last year. Lastly, this thesis is dedicated to Budd, who in his early 90's, came back to the Catholic Church after leaving over 60 years ago. He has shown me the importance of forgiveness and the importance of Pope Francis. This thesis is in many ways a personal exploration into what happened to us as LGBTQ Catholics. v Table of Contents Part 1: Context of the Work: Its Method and Structure 1. Introduction.................................................................................................................................1 1.1. The Context of the Work...............................................................................................3 1.2. The Thesis Question......................................................................................................8 1.3. Globalization and Religion: Civil Society in Post-Cold War World Governance Models..................................................................................................................................9 1.4. The Church and Globalization: Modern Catholic Social Thought as an Ambiguous Resource.............................................................................................................................17 1.5. Structure of the Work..................................................................................................22 2. Context of the Work: "The Francis Effect" and Wealth Inequality as an Emerging Category of Importance.....................................................................................................................................27 2.1. The Reforms of Francis...............................................................................................27 2.1.1. The Anti-capitalist Rhetoric in the Apostolic Letter Evangelii gaudium (2013)......................................................................................................................27 2.1.2. Shaming Limburg's "Bishop of Bling" and the Demotion of Cardinal Raymond Burke......................................................................................................29 2.1.3. The Case for the Canonization of Archbishop Óscar Romero of San Salvador..................................................................................................................31 2.1.4. An Encyclical on Climate Change: