Might the current crisis in the Church be a moment of renewal? A sociologist of religion argues that the best hope for a revitalised Church might lie in dialogue with a ‘post-secular’ world

As the Catholic Church in Europe and the United States continues to be buffeted by crises of its own making and by the intensifying winds of secular change, it is not surprising that a defeatist narrative dominates Catholic commentary. Yet, perhaps this moment of contrition might – just might – be an opportunity for the Church – laity and leaders – to dig deep into the Catholic tradition and to search there for resources that could help it to forge new relevance.

The German philosopher and champion of the radical liberal state Jürgen Habermas – who turned 90 this month – characterises our society as “post-secular”. Increasingly concerned by the social ills that came to prominence at the turn of this century – financial crises, deepening economic inequality, global warming, the cultural marginalisation of migrants and refugees – he now argues that reason and rationality must be augmented by the moral and cultural resources provided by public religion. He recognises that the resources of Catholicism can help reorient contemporary society; its long-preserved values and ethics can help to remedy the modern malaise, while its communal base can stoke the political solidarity required to create a more equal and inclusive society. Religious communities, Habermas recognises, have “preserved intact something which has elsewhere been lost”.