Relativism: The central problem for faith today

n The title given above is taken from a talk given by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger last September to a group of 80 bishops from mission territories. I have mentioned the role of relativism in our society more than once in this column. It pleases me to see that a great mind like Cardinal Ratzinger says that relativism is "the central problem of the faith at the present time." I would go further and say that it is the central problem of our whole western culture which has abandoned its Christian foundation and reverted to atheism and paganism. That this is so is manifest from the violence, crudity, ugliness and epidemic immorality which is obvious to anyone with his eyes open, to anyone who reads the daily press or watches TV news and thinks about what he sees and hears. It is manifest from the divisions, dissent and decline in the Church.

What do we mean by "relativism"? It is a philosophical term which means that there is no objective truth that exists independently of human subjectivity or thinking. It means that there is no objective common ground that all can know and agree on. According to this philosophy, one does not know the truth, rather one wills the truth or even feels it, so it is individual and subjective. One consequence of this view is that each person creates his own truth, goodness and values-each person creates his own reality. In the realm of morality this means that no act, no matter how cruel or heinous, is totally evil in itself; nothing is intrinsically evil such as blasphemy or adultery or murder. According to this view, circumstances and intention can turn such things into good acts. The philosophical theory of relativism has been brilliantly analyzed and rejected by Pope John Paul II in two of his recent encyclical letters, The Splendor of Truth (1993) and The Gospel of Life (1995). In the former letter he says that the alliance between democracy and ethical relativism "easily turn into open or thinly disguised totalitarianism" (#101). In the latter, he links philosophical and moral relativism to the "culture of death" which is growing in intensity in our society.

Relativism is a problem for the faith today because it puts all religions on the same level. Thus, it denies the divinity of Jesus Christ and puts him on the same level as any other religious leader, such as Buddha or Mohammed. For the advocates of this view, Christians who believe in the divinity of Jesus and hold for the objective truth of the Ten Commandments and the Sacraments are described as "fundamentalists" and fanatics. They are considered dangerous and a threat to the supreme good of modernity, namely, tolerance and freedom. But since relativists have a false view of man, they also have a false view of freedom. John Paul II has said repeatedly that real freedom flows from the truth (quoting John 8:32).

In this context, Ratzinger offers a helpful critique of the use of "dialogue" in the Church. Since Vatican II we have heard a lot about dialogue. It has been assumed that if opposing parties just sit down and talk together long enough they can reach consensus. Note well what the Cardinal says: "In the relativist meaning, to dialogue means to put one's own position, i.e., one's faith, on the same level as the convictions of others. Only if I suppose in principle that the other can be as right, or more right than I, can an authentic dialogue take place." Ratzinger rejects this view because: "The relativist dissolution of Christology, and even more of ecclesiology, thus becomes a central commandment of religion."

Cardinal Ratzinger has much more to say about relativism in reference to Marxism, liberation theology, oriental religions, and the New Age movement. You will find the article in Origins, October 31, 1996, pp. 309-317.

Kenneth Baker, S.J., Editor