
The Intimate
Polity and the Catholic Church-Laws about Life, Death and the Family in So-called Catholic Countries
Leuven University Press
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 27. February 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
224 pages
978-94-6270-027-7 (ISBN)
Description
The waning influence of the Catholic church in the ethical and political debate For centuries the Catholic Church was able to impose her ethical rules in matters related to the intimate, that is, questions concerning life (from its beginning until its end) and the family, in the so-called Catholic countries in Western Europe. When the polity started to introduce legislation that was in opposition to the Catholic ethic, the ecclesiastical authorities and part of the population reacted. The media reported massive manifestations in France against same-sex marriages and in Spain against the de-penalization of abortion. In Italy the Episcopal conference entered the political field in opposition to the relaxation of several restrictive legal rules concerning medically assisted procreation and exhorted the voters to abstain from voting so that the referendum did not obtain the necessary quorum. In Portugal, to the contrary, the Church made a "pact" with the prime minister so that the law on same-sex marriages did not include the possibility of adoption. And in Belgium the Episcopal conference limited its actions to clearly expressing with religious, legal, and anthropological arguments its opposition to such laws, which all other Episcopal conferences did also.
In this book, the authors analyse the full spectrum of the issue, including the emergence of such laws; the political discussions; the standpoints defended in the media by professionals, ethicists, and politicians; the votes in the parliaments; the political interventions of the Episcopal conferences; and the attitude of professionals. As a result the reader understands what was at stake and the differences in actions of the various Episcopal conferences. The authors also analyse the pro and con evaluations among the civil population of such actions by the Church. Finally, in a comparative synthesis, they discuss the public positions taken by Pope Francis to evaluate if a change in Church policy might be possible in the near future.
Research by GERICR (Groupe europeen de recherche interdisciplinaire sur le changement religieux), a European interdisciplinary research group studying religious changes coordinated by Alfonso Perez-Agote.
This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).
Contributors: Celine Beraud (Universite de Caen), Annalisa Frisina (Universita degli Studi di Padova), Franco Garelli (Universita degli Studi di Torino), Antonio Montanes (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), Enzo Pace (Universita degli Studi di Padova), Philippe Portier (Ecole pratique des hautes etudes, Paris-Sorbonne), Jose Santiago (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), Roberto Francesco Scalon (Universita degli Studi di Torino), Liliane Voye (Universite Catholique de Louvain)
In this book, the authors analyse the full spectrum of the issue, including the emergence of such laws; the political discussions; the standpoints defended in the media by professionals, ethicists, and politicians; the votes in the parliaments; the political interventions of the Episcopal conferences; and the attitude of professionals. As a result the reader understands what was at stake and the differences in actions of the various Episcopal conferences. The authors also analyse the pro and con evaluations among the civil population of such actions by the Church. Finally, in a comparative synthesis, they discuss the public positions taken by Pope Francis to evaluate if a change in Church policy might be possible in the near future.
Research by GERICR (Groupe europeen de recherche interdisciplinaire sur le changement religieux), a European interdisciplinary research group studying religious changes coordinated by Alfonso Perez-Agote.
This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).
Contributors: Celine Beraud (Universite de Caen), Annalisa Frisina (Universita degli Studi di Padova), Franco Garelli (Universita degli Studi di Torino), Antonio Montanes (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), Enzo Pace (Universita degli Studi di Padova), Philippe Portier (Ecole pratique des hautes etudes, Paris-Sorbonne), Jose Santiago (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), Roberto Francesco Scalon (Universita degli Studi di Torino), Liliane Voye (Universite Catholique de Louvain)
Reviews / Votes
En resumen, dentro del panorama teorico actual, The Intimate ofrece una vision de conjunto a?nica sobre las estrategias de las diferentes jerarquias catolicas europeas que ayudara a comprender cuales han sido las dinamicas utilizadas para frenar el avance del proceso de secularizacion, y dentro de este, para comprender cuales son las posiciones de privilegio a conservar en el escenario politico y social de las que se han visto desplazados. Hay muy pocos (diria que ninguno) ensayos que aborden el tema tratado en este libro, y mas aa?n, de una manera tan clara y exhaustiva. Referencia fundamental para aquellos interesados en las renovadas estrategias politicas de la Iglesia, asi como para aquellos que se acerquen al fenomenopor primera vez.
Joseba GARCaA MARTaN, Reis. Rev.Esp.Investig.Sociol. N? 156, Octubre - Diciembre 2016, pp. 159-174 Cet ouvrage, analysant ainsi la complexite des situations nationales, nous met a meme d'apprehender les raisons et les modalites de resurgissement ou de renforcement de l'Eglise catholique dans l'espace politique. Confrontee a la fois a une perte de pouvoir sur les conduites et a de nouveaux defis ethiques, elle revendique, avec des nuances nationales, une pretention a fournir des fondements ethiques au droit et a la politique. Ceci nous met plus generalement en demeure de nous interroger sur l'articulation, dans les democraties contemporaines, entre droit et morale dans les domaines du droit touchant aux questions ethiques. La question, constitutive de la postmodernite, de la formation et de la legitimite de la norme commune, pour lesquelles John Rawls nous invite, en convoquant <<le devoir de civilite>>, a mettre de ca?te certaines de nos croyances quand il s'agit d'etablir des institutions et des regles politiques communes, rencontre ici un point d'achoppement particulierement important.
Claude Proeschel, Social Sciences and Missions 29 (2016) 141-;206
More details
Series
Edition
01
Language
English
Place of publication
Leuven
Belgium
Target group
College/higher education
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Not illustrated
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 170 mm
Weight
425 gr
ISBN-13
978-94-6270-027-7 (9789462700277)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Karel Dobbelaere | Alfonso Pérez Agote
The Intimate: Polity and the Catholic Church
Laws about Life, Death and the Family in So-called Catholic Countries
E-Book
02/2015
1st Edition
Leuven University Press
€40.49
Available for download
Persons
Karel Dobbelaere is Emeritus Professor of Sociology of the University of Antwerp and KU Leuven. Alfonso Perez-Agote is Professor of Sociology at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid.
Content
Introduction
Karel Dobbelaere & Alfonso Perez-Agote
Euthanasia and the Belgian Catholic World
Liliane Voye & Karel Dobbelaere
"Mariage pour tous"
The Same-Sex Marriage Controversy in France
Celine Beraud & Philippe Portier
The Italian Catholic Church and the Artificial-Insemination Referendum
Annalisa Frisina, Franco Garelli, Enzo Pace & Roberto Scalon
Ethical Challenges of the Catholic Church in Portugal
The Case of Same-Sex Marriage
Helena Vilaca & Maria Joao Oliveira
The Catholic Church Faces Ethical Challenges in Spain
The Regulation of Abortion
Alfonso Perez-Agote, Jose Santiago & Antonio Montanes
Comparative Synthesis
Karel Dobbelaere, Alfonso Perez-Agote & Celine Beraud
Authors
Colophon
Karel Dobbelaere & Alfonso Perez-Agote
Euthanasia and the Belgian Catholic World
Liliane Voye & Karel Dobbelaere
"Mariage pour tous"
The Same-Sex Marriage Controversy in France
Celine Beraud & Philippe Portier
The Italian Catholic Church and the Artificial-Insemination Referendum
Annalisa Frisina, Franco Garelli, Enzo Pace & Roberto Scalon
Ethical Challenges of the Catholic Church in Portugal
The Case of Same-Sex Marriage
Helena Vilaca & Maria Joao Oliveira
The Catholic Church Faces Ethical Challenges in Spain
The Regulation of Abortion
Alfonso Perez-Agote, Jose Santiago & Antonio Montanes
Comparative Synthesis
Karel Dobbelaere, Alfonso Perez-Agote & Celine Beraud
Authors
Colophon