Question for Catholics: Would you approve of it if America ever became a Catholic theocracy?

Would belief in other religions, atheism and agnosticism be illegal?

LivingWordUnity said:

I asked the question because liberals are saying that we should all listen to the Church on immigration and on capital punishment. So I'm giving them a chance to show that they can be consistent.

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But that doesn't answer my question, so as a liberal, without this clarification I can't answer yours.
If the hypothetical theocracy is based on all Catholic teachings, that would, I expect, include the basic statements of faith. Would belief be required then by law?

LivingWordUnity said:

The OP is as clear as possible. Whatever is taught by the Catholic Church is how the government would be run. No exceptions.

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As a Protestant I would never vote to impose my doctrines on you.

Hank77 said:

As a Protestant I would never vote to impose my doctrines on you.

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I believe the OP stipulated the question was for Catholics. We weren't asked.

LivingWordUnity said:

The OP is as clear as possible. Whatever is taught by the Catholic Church is how the government would be run. No exceptions.

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Then no, I don't support a system that would arrest someone for lack of belief or incorrect belief, regardless of whatever good it accomplished. Forced belief can't really be the goal.

LivingWordUnity said:

The model for what I'm talking about would be how Vatican City is run. Do you think anyone gets mistreated there?

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So Catholic teaching on belief wouldn't be part of the law in your proposed system? People would be free to practice other faiths or not practice religion at all? That would be different, then ,but would it be a Catholic theocracy if one could openly practice paganism or freely promote atheism?

As attractive as it would be on some fronts I would have to say no. Overall, it would not be a good idea imo.

LivingWordUnity said:

Would you approve of it if the American people were to ever decide by a vote to put the Catholic bishops in charge of the government and then base all (with no exceptions) of its laws on the teachings of the Catholic Magisterium? That means that on all the hot-button political issues—abortion, homosexuality, embryonic stem cells, climate change, immigration, euthanasia, capital punishment—the teaching in the Catholicism of the Catholic Church would be applied. Would you approve of that? This is a yes or no question, and my answer is yes I would approve of it. And, as all the regulars here know, I'm a conservative.

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Yes, with some caveats.

I would vote for a candidate or party that held The same positions as the Church, including being against the death penalty, abortion, and euthanasia, and for streamlined and expanded immigration, welcoming of refugees without regard to their religion, stronger gun control laws, and so on. Not only would I vote for such a candidate, I try to contact my representatives and ask them to support those issues that the Church supports and oppose those that the Church opposes. It is not enough to begrudgingly vote for perceived lesser evils, we need to make our preferences known to our potential representatives ahead of time and make our voices heard.

My ideal preference would not be for a Catholic theocracy but a democratically elected government that consisted of men and women who held to all of the moral teachings of the Church. I would strongly prefer an ecclesiocracy to a theocracy, but I would accept and rather like a theocracy.

Of course, any US theocracy would likely NOT be Catholic.

LivingWordUnity said:

But you would be against having a Catholic theocracy?

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Keep reading.

LivingWordUnity said:

Part of the Catholic teaching on belief is that no one should be forced to embrace the faith against their will.

See the following from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

“To be human, 'man's response to God by faith must be free, and... therefore nobody is to be forced to embrace the faith against his will. The act of faith is of its very nature a free act.' 'God calls men to serve him in spirit and in truth. Consequently they are bound to him in conscience, but not coerced. . . This fact received its fullest manifestation in Christ Jesus.' Indeed, Christ invited people to faith and conversion, but never coerced them. 'For he bore witness to the truth but refused to use force to impose it on those who spoke against it. His kingdom... grows by the love with which Christ, lifted up on the cross, draws men to himself.'” - CCC 160​

So, to answer your question, the Catholic teaching on belief would be in the law.
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So other faiths could freely practice, and no one would be forced to acknowledge a belief in any public sphere? We've had Catholic governments before and that wouldn't be the case. How about marriage? Would all marriages have to be sacramental. ..in other words, could say two divorced people marry? Two non Catholics?

MikeK said:

Keep reading.

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So, you would accept a theocracy as long as it was run by your faith community. Off course, you would prefer that the democratic process resulted in the election of those who agreed with the Church. Have I misstated your position.

LivingWordUnity said:

I think that's a contradiction. If you really wanted every politician and law to be 100% Catholic it makes no sense to then say that you are against the idea of having a Catholic theocracy.

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I didn't say I was against the idea if having a Catholic theocracy, I said that I liked the idea but that I'd prefer an ecclesiocracy, but yeah, I'd definitely support a legitimate theocracy.