Christian Response to the Changing Value System: Based on Gaudium et Spes - 2015 (BJMM010)

 

Christian Response to the Changing Value System: Based on Gaudium et Spes.

Dr Edward Edezhath (edward.edezhath@gmail.com)

[Colloquium on Second Vatican Council, St. Joseph’s Pontifical Institute of Theology and Philosophy, Alwaye]

The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes has been the Church’s unprecedented response to the momentous developments of the times, opening up a novel approach in the Church to discern and actively engage the socio-cultural winds of the wider world. That the document was not anticipated at the preparatory stage of the council, but arose, as it were, from the floor of the Council, testifies to fact that its sentiments were the felt needs of the generation. In a very particular way, the document reflected on the rapid changes in values and attitudes, especially of the younger generation and based on these reflections it proposed approaches that the Church and the faithful should adopt while dealing with the wider society and the world.

The winds of Change Leading to Vatican II

The Second Vatican Council had as its backdrop the important undercurrents of that epoch making times. Entrusted with the august responsibility of “reading the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel” the council fathers realized that theirs was “a new age of history with critical and swift upheavals spreading gradually to all corners of the earth”[1]. The first half of the 20^th Century rewrote so many of the approaches the humanity had during the previous ages. The council in other words was a radical response of the faith community to the changed world view that a variety of socio-cultural changes brought about by landmark developments in all areas of the world and facets of life, including political developments, scientific discoveries, organizational outfits, novel ideologies and the like.

At the turn of this century Sigmund Freud published The Interpretation of Dreams (1900), advent of Pentecostalism (1900 - Charles Parham) redrew denominational map of Christianity. Sinking of Titanic (1912) inflicted a deep wound in the pride and confidence of technological innovation. The two World Wars made the century one of the most brutal periods in human history, manifesting the efficiency of human mind and political organization as well as the unimaginable cruelty and massacre that a war can inflict. But the League of Nations (1919) and later the United Nations (1945) became indications of creative response to any dimension of tragedy and darkness that the human spirit is capable of. With the 60 million death toll of the second World War and so many other tragedies of the century, the most telling brutalities were perhaps in the holocaust instigated by Hitler, the death and disappearance under the communist totalitarian regimes and the specter that Hiroshima (1945) raised, showing the depth of destruction some human inventions were capable of.

Political upheavals of the period were not limited to what ended up in the World Wars. The formation of Labour Party in Britain (1900) was a precursor to a variety of new political movements. Easter rising in Dublin (1906), Gandhi’s resistance movement in India starting from 1920 and a number of freedom initiatives in many Asian and African countries were all indications of a new wind against colonialism as well as a sign of new selfhood and national identities that were emerging during the period. Floodgates were opened with the advent of communism staring with Bolshevik rising in Russia (1917), followed by formation of Communist Party in China (1921), leading to sustained military and political alliances in a period of ‘cold war’ culminating in formation of NATO (1949) and the Warsaw Pact (1955).

Last century was also a hectic period of path-breaking scientific discoveries and technological developments. Einstein put forward his Theory of Relativity (1905), Bakelite the early synthetic plastic was developed in 1907, Model T Car by Ford (1908) was a revolution that made motor car affordable, Wright Brothers’ (1903) invention was to transform the mode of travel, invention of TB vaccine (1923) and Fleming’s penicillin (1928) solved age-old riddles of suffering. Early part of the 20^th century also saw the seeding and blooming of mass communication as we know it today and also the laying the foundations of digital communication. Graham Bell had made the first long distance telephonic call in 1892, Lumiére brothers achieved a film show in 1895, Marconi’s trans-Atlantic transmission was in 1901, Baird’s TV (1926), BBC (1932), Electronic digital computer (1946) and launch of the first satellite in 1957 were every one of them steps that were to revolutionize not just how people communicated but also defined how they would think and act.

Human beings ventured out of the earth in the last century with the first satellite launch in 1957, Sputnik 1 by USSR followed by Explorer 1 by US next year. Next year was the first unmanned lunar landing by the Soviet Luna 2 and eventually Apollo 11 in 1969. Blues and Jazz came in the early part of the century. Existentialism, Phenomenology, Marxism, Structuralism and Post Structuralism shaped the ideas and approaches. Terms like ideology, world war, genocide, and nuclear war entered common usage. Big Bang theory, Relativity, quantum physics and mapping of the DNA drastically changed the worldview of scientists.

In every way the world had changed in the course of the first half of the 20^th century, and it necessitated a fundamental change in the life and attitude of every individual and each society. Nations were changing and political maps as well as administrative structures were getting redrawn. In the face of all these transforming waves the Catholic Church, as “nothing that is genuinely human fails to find an echo”[2] in its heart, was moved to respond to these perplexing questions through an exercise of “aggiornamento”. The whole Council and, in a very special way, the Pastoral Constitution became an “eloquent expression of its solidarity and respectful affection for the whole human family …to enter into dialogue with it about all these different problems”[3].

Vatican II a beacon of light in the stormy times

The magnitude of the Council was that with forthrightness and empathy the Church as a whole opted to respond to the profound transformations that were coming about in the world. In his opening address on 11 October 1962 Pope John XXIII articulated clearly the Church’s vision of appreciating the progressive feats, yet highlighting her own role of sensitizing the world towards perennial values:

The Church has not watched inertly the marvelous progress of the discoveries of human genius, and has not been backward in evaluating them rightly. But, while following these developments, she does not neglect to admonish men so that, over and above sense -- perceived things -- they may raise their eyes to God, the Source of all wisdom and all beauty. And may they never forget the most serious command: "The Lord thy God shalt thou worship, and Him only shalt thou serve" (Mt. 4:10; Lk. 4:8), so that it may happen that the fleeting fascination of visible things should impede true progress[4].

With his penetrating sagacity this benevolent pastor could see the urgent call of the hour. While almost all of the previous 20 ecumenical councils focused on the nitty-gritty of doctrinal clarity the present one was directed in another angle.

The salient point of this Council is not, therefore, a discussion of one article or another of the fundamental doctrine of the Church . . . The substance of the ancient doctrine of the deposit of faith is one thing, and the way in which it is presented is another. And it is the latter that must be taken into great consideration with patience if necessary, everything being measured in the forms and proportions of a Magisterium which is predominantly pastoral in character[5].

With this fresh start of engaging the modern world in a novel manner and addressing the contemporary issues with a renewed zest, the Church found herself embroiled in a variety of question relating to values and attitudes. Realizing that “the spiritual uneasiness of today and the changing structure of life are part of a broader upheaval”[6] she attempts to address the deeper undercurrents of values and convictions, especially in the contemporary times, of the younger generation.

In this vein it is pertinent to ask, what is the emerging understanding on values which are the wellsprings of focused human action? It is also true that individuals as well as societies change their attitudes and also alter the resultant behavioral patterns when they go through life’s transforming experiences. This can be in a constructive or destructive orientation. When the Divine Teacher entrusted His disciples with his own task of changing the hearts and minds of people calling “repent” [7] the Church got itself deeply involved in these dynamics of inner change.

Change of Orientation: values to attitudes to behavior

Guiding principles of thought and behavior are often referred to as one’s values. It is believed that these principles develop slowly over a time as part of the individual’s social and psychological development. Values have to do with one's belief, mission or a philosophy that is meaningful. Values are basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end state of existence is personally or socially preferable [8]. They contain a judgmental element in that they carry an individual's idea as to what is right, good, or desirable. When we rank an individual's values in terms of their intensity, we obtain that person's value system. We have a hierarchy of values that forms our value system. Accordingly, we assign relative importance to values like pleasure, freedom, honesty, etc.

Values dictate our notions on what "ought to be" and "ought not to be". Our likes and dislikes, what we will do or refrain from doing, our commitment or lacking the same, all depend on our conscious or unconscious values. Hence values influence our attitudes and behaviour. Values that we hold get formed from our early days and get established as we grow up, getting influenced by parents, teachers, friends and so on. Values, in other words, form the core of our moral living.

But how dynamic are our values? Does our notion of right and wrong evolve and change? Education in general and faith formation and moral education in particular proceed with the assumption that a person’s values and resultant moral attitudes and behavior are malleable, especially at some age or situation of life.

In this line the work of Lawrence Kohlberg (1927 - 1987) lends much insight as well as useful assistance. His theory of stages of moral development holds that moral reasoning which is the basis of ethical behaviour, has six identifiable developmental stages[9], each more adequate at responding to moral dilemmas than the last. The higher the stage, the greater is the person's capacity in terms of decision making and the consequent ability to handle more complex dilemmas.

Kohlberg's Sequence of Moral Reasoning
Level	Stage
Pre-conventional	1. Obedience and punishment 2. Individualism, instrumentalism, and exchange
Conventional	3. “Good boy/girl” 4. Law and order
Post-conventional	5. Social contract 6. Principled conscience

 Kohlberg grouped his six stages of moral development into 3 levels. Under the first level of "Preconventional Morality" stage 1 is "Obedience and Punishment orientation" and Stage 2. "Individualism and Exchange" when the child recognise one right view handed down by the authority. Under Level II "Conventional Morality" come Stage 3. "Good Interpersonal Relationship" and Stage 4. "Maintaining the Social Order". Stage 3 reasoning works best in two-person relationships with family members or close friends, where one can make a real effort to get to know the other's feelings and needs and try to help. At stage 4, in contrast, the respondent becomes more broadly concerned with society as a whole. Under Level III “Postconventional Morality” fall stages 5 and 6. In Stage 5. "Social Contract and Individual Rights" people begin to think about society in a very theoretical way, seeking for ways to build a good society. At Stage 6 "Universal Principles" people become sensitive to justice and peace of a universal order.

While Kohlberg makes us aware of the linear evolution of development of values and sense of morality Icek Ajzen in his model emphasizes that human behaviors are governed not only by personal attitudes, but also by social pressures and a sense of control. The social Psychologist Icek Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)[10] speaks of how behavior is formed and how it can be changed. TPB is closely linked to a former model Theory of Reasoned Action. According to TPB a person's behavior does not appear to be 100% voluntary and under control, but is guided by 3 kinds of considerations. They are, as the figure[11] shows, 3 beliefs or subjective perceptions of the individual. 1. Behavior Beliefs (Beliefs about the possible consequence of the behavior). 2. Normative Belief (Beliefs about the normative expectations of others). 3. Control Beliefs (beliefs about the presence of factors that may facilitate or impede performance of the behavior).

These three lead to the formation of a behavioral intention. As a rule, the more favorable the attitude toward behavior and subjective norm and the greater the perceived control, the stronger should be the person's intention to perform the behavior in question.

Icek Ajzen in brief demonstrates the inner dynamics that motivates a person for action, which in turn proves to be an effective tool for behavioral change of a variety of sorts, especially of changing unwholesome habits. This model also explains why increasing knowledge alone does not help to change behavior much. Instead, efforts to change attitudes, perceived norms and control result in effective change in the way a person behaves, buys goods, or make other choices.

These theoretical considerations lead us to the concerns of the Church in forming values and influencing the moral responses of its own flock as well as the wider world. While many of the theories a clear order and direction in the moral behavior of humanity as a whole, making possible a predictable path, the Church goes further realizing through revelation a Divine plan of ordered moral conscience.

In the depths of his conscience, man detects a law which he does not impose upon himself, but which holds him to obedience. Always summoning him to love good and avoid evil, the voice of conscience when necessary, speaks to his heart: do this, shun that. For man has in his heart a law written by God; to obey it is the very dignity of man; according to it he will be judged[12].

More than an abstract moral path this invitation to higher levels of moral living, for the Church, is a personal call and the voice of an indwelling direction to turn here and not to turn there. And it is a sacred inner sanctum called conscience.

Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of a man. There he is alone with God, Whose voice echoes in his depths. In a wonderful manner conscience reveals that law which is fulfilled by love of God and neighbor. In fidelity to conscience, Christians are joined with the rest of men in the search for truth, and for the genuine solution to the numerous problems which arise in the life of individuals from social relationships.[13]

The moral development that is contemplated here is not a fear driven, self-centered, other world-oriented lifestyle, but as Kohlberg’s sixth stage of “Universal Principles” would say we are impelled to “Join the rest of men in search for truth” and universal brotherhood, praying “thy Kingdome come!”.

New Evangelization as a response to contemporary challenges of value formation

If the Second Vatican Council was preceded epoch making discoveries and unprecedented historic events, today almost 50 years later the Church confronts entirely different sets of innovative discoveries, political movements, moral storms and other challenges of faith and values. The Church is obliged to read and discern the signs of the times afresh, to enquire again in the light of the Gospels to discover new solutions to the modern challenges.

In the contemporary times the term as well as innovative approach called 'New Evangelization' has been seen as the sum total of Church's approaches to effective pastoral responses to current issues. "Ever since the Second Vatican Council, the new evangelization has increasingly presented itself as an appropriate, timely tool in addressing the challenges of a rapidly-changing world"[14]. And what is New Evangelization? As Lineamenta of the just concluded synod put it, “The new evangelization is a frame-of-mind, a courageous manner of acting and … capacity to know how to read and interpret the new situations in human history”[15]. In other words, it is the contemporary Catholic response to social and moral transformations taking place across the world.

The value transformations that are taking place around us are momentous. Same sex couples nearly tripled to a count of 43,560 in five years from 2006 in Canada and the cohabitating couples increased to 13.9% of total families and their number is 1,567,900 in 2011[16]. Today about 40% of children in Britain are born to unmarried (cohabiting) parents[17]. The Instrumentum Laboris of the Synod on New Evangelization identified 7 areas of the contemporary world that requires special attention, as “the new evangelization now becomes discernment or the ability to read and decipher the new sectors which have emerged in human history in the last decade, so that, in turn, they might be turned into places for proclaiming the Gospel and experiencing the Church”[18].

1. Secularization: In the cultural sector a newer set of values is fast gaining absolute sway. “The “death of God” proclaimed by many intellectuals in recent decades has given way to an unproductive, hedonistic and consumer mentality, which leads to a highly superficial manner in facing life and responsibility”[19]. In order to meet the deep-set spiritual needs people are turning to individual forms of spirituality, very often rejecting organised forms of religion. A fast-growing relativism has become the order of the day.

2. Migration In the social sector one of the outstanding trends of the contemporary times is the unprecedented dimension of people leaving their homes and countries of origin, sometimes to live in urban settings and very often in search of better employment and living conditions. This is “resulting in a meeting and mixing of cultures and contributing to the erosion of basic reference points to life, values and the very bonds through which people build their identity and come to know the meaning of life”[20]. Coupled with the secularizing trends and different aspects of globalization the communities, especially the young, are losing all references to longstanding traditions including religious ones.

3. Economic crisis: Driven by globalizing trends and a variety of current factors rich grow in their affluence while poor become poorer. Challenges of migration accentuate this imbalance. Addressing economic poverty and also other forms of poverty and evolving systems to address them effectively in the long run are urgent requirements of the day.

4. Civic Life: While polarization brought about by communism was a great challenge in the last century new forms of unrest have come up in the third millennium. “The emergence on the world stage of new economic, political and religious actors from the Islamic and Asian worlds has created an entirely new and unknown situation, rich in potential, but fraught with dangers and new temptations for dominion and power”[21]. New forms of public interventions and peace efforts are the pressing needs of the day.

5. Scientific research and technology: The new products of science and technology bring ease and comfort to daily living and continue to cause marvel in the mind of everyone. These new gadgets have created a new dependency in the contemporary generation. They are raising new expectations, and as a result sometimes science becomes a kind of new religion.

6. Communication Media: The new opportunities that communications offered was limited to industrialized societies, but today all parts of the world and sections of the societies benefit from them. With increased availability of information, access to people and possibilities of entertainment these media have changed the lifestyle of the world. While they offer immense possibility for the people as well as the Church some of their inherent dangers cannot be lost sight of. Their excessive hold on the thinking of the people may often result in the reduction of ethics and values to appearances.

7. Changes in Religious Sector: Though secularizing trends have weakened the religious sense of the people, especially the young, in many sections of the society there is a re-emergence of spirituality and religion. But in some cases, this return to religion has not been a deepening of one’s search for truth and consequently, “the positive aspects of rediscovering God and the sacred are viewed as impoverished and obscured by a fundamentalism which frequently manipulates religion to justify acts of violence and, in extreme but fortunately limited cases, even terrorism”[22].

The above listing is significant, and they represent the perception of a broad spectrum of the Church as the moral and value challenges of contemporary times. Addressing them effectively and proposing relevant practical measures tackle these socio-cultural realities will in fact determine the meaningful pastoral dynamics of future faith community. The ‘who’ and the ‘how’ surely emerge as the most pertinent question. Perhaps the Lord’s question to Prophet Isaiah “Who will go for me”[23] is resounding today with ever increasing magnitude and relevance.

The above challenges are realities in existence in recent decades and the Church has already been finding solutions to these issues. There have been practical measures already in place in various parts of the universal Church and the new efforts, especially those that have been initiated in the recent Synod will rediscover and affirm some of them and will sharpen and accentuate and newly emerging trends. What are some of the recent approaches that have been emerging in the Church addressing the value challenges in recent times?

Signs of hope: Contemporary leads in addressing value change

It has often been remarked that even though the first half of the 20^th century was perhaps the darkest era worldwide in recorded history, that was also the most fertile period in terms of examples of individual and collective initiatives for positive values and humanitarian initiatives. The Spirit of God hovers over when darkness and confusion pervade the world[24]. The United Nations, a number of national and humanitarian networks, innumerable useful sci-tech inventions, illustrious saints and other great souls of the time are all veritable testimonies for this fact. The contemporary times are also in anyway different. In this age of unprecedented personal connectivity and unlimited entertainment media, unspeakable moral degeneration and unparalleled violence evil has become professional and likewise virtue has also attained excellence. All around us testimonies of positivity surely abound.

Creative Listening: The attitude of active listening and dialogue has been well rooted in the spirit of Vatican II and this has grown further in contemporary times, creating indelible impressions on variant attitudes and value stances. The inter religious encounters at Assisi initiative began at the behest of San’t Egidio by John Paul II starting from 1986 have been an eloquent testimony of collaboration for positive stance in the face of growing deterioration of values. An innovative model of the present Pope takes this approach further. In the final propositions of the recently concluded Synod of Bishops he proposes, “The ecclesial communities open a kind of Courtyard of the Gentiles where believers and non-believers can dialogue about fundamental themes: the great values of ethics, art and science, and the search for the transcendent”[25]. Initiatives small and big are on at different levels and they are surely signs of great hope.

Encounters and experiences forming values: Providing ‘knowledge’ or information was seen as the key to inculcation of values, but as we look back not just this ‘multi-media’ age, but every generation looked for personal encounters, not just with abstract values but with personifications of virtue. Such encounters changed people. “The New Evangelization recognizes the value of these faith experiences and encourages them as ways to grow in Christian virtue”[26]. But more than this persons with deep God-encounter today become catalysts of value growth.

Showcasing virtue: It is often remarked that modern generation is averse to instruction and advice, especially in matters of values, but take in examples. In today’s media rich culture highlighting of positive models of virtue and presenting them such in joyful, festive ambience have great merit. As one of the final Propositions remark,  “It is important to give testimony to the young who follow Jesus, not only of his goodness and truth, but also of the fullness of his beauty. As Augustine affirmed, ‘it is not possible to love what is not beautiful’”[27] Among many such contemporary examples, World Youth Days have been proving to be highly effective in this line.

Power of the lone voice: Contemporary generation is characterised by the rising confidence of the individual. With growing popularity and increasing affordability of a variety of media even the most ordinary individual is able to whisper sense to the wider world, which is listened to and followed up widely. The fast-growing social networking media are the latest examples of these.

Networking of initiatives: The Second Vatican Council envisaged greater participative styles and Gaudium et Spes spoke of micro-level associations: “There is need as well of the coordination and fitting and harmonious combination of the spontaneous efforts of individuals and of free groups with the undertakings of public authorities”[28]. Today networking has become the order of the day especially in the area of technological progress and this marvel has given confidence to the little dreamers in the Spirit to think big and ‘move the mountain’ by joining hands with the likeminded initiatives. Such value rich initiatives are growing.

New Movements: Professionalism and cutting-edge discoveries are the order of the day in every field of art and science. At times, intimidated by the glamour and efficiency of these modern ways, the traditional modes go into seclusion, trying out their humble ways of value initiatives. But today many ordinary men and women are eager to employ their initiatives and efficiency for value dissemination and faith formation. In the Catholic Church the modern day New Ecclesial Movements are eloquent examples of this changed reality. The Final Propositions of the Synod, incidentally, refers to these: “Since Vatican II, the New Evangelization has greatly benefited from the dynamism of the new ecclesial movements and new communities. . . . The Synod recognizes these new realities and encourages them to utilise their charisms . . .[29]”. But this phenomenon is not limited to the Church alone. In the Church and outside a hospitable attitude and harmonising styles of functioning will help value transmission and faith formation increasingly relevant in the contemporary world.

In Conclusion

In a rapidly transforming cultural scenario the Church at the time of the Second Vatican Council thought it significant that the dynamics of changing value systems of the day should be closely attended to, and effective alternatives proposed. As Gaudium et Spes remarks, “Unlike former days, the denial of God or of religion, or the abandonment of them, are no longer unusual and individual occurrences. For today it is not rare for such things to be presented as requirements of scientific progress or of a certain new humanism”[30]. Today the general outlook is not any better, or we may say that the situation has much worsened. But as it responded 50 years ago, perhaps with greater resolve and added focus the Church is reflecting deeply on how to address these world changes. The response has been effective, and we are sure that as history marches forward the Church will find herself still more relevant and effective.

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[1] Gaudium et Spes (GS), 4.

[2] GS, 1.

[3] GS, 3.

[4] Pope John XXIII, Opening Speech for Council of Vatican II. http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/teach/v2open.htm

[5] Ibid.

[6] GS, 5

[7] Mt. 4:17, AA 2:38.

[8] Robbins, Stephen. Organizational Behavior. 6th Edn. New Delhi: Printice-Hall, 1995. 171

[9] Crain, W.C. Theories of Development. Prentice-Hall, 1985 pp. 118-120. http://faculty.plts.edu/gpence/html/kohlberg.htm

[10] Icek Ajzen. Theory of Planned Behavior. Value Based Management.net. http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_ajzen_theory_planned_behaviour.html

[11] Source: Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, p. 179-211. http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/Health%20Communication/theory_planned_behavior.doc/

[12] GS, 16

[13] GS, 16.

[14] Lineamenta of 2012 Synod of Bishops, 1.

[15] Lineamenta, 6

[16] Flynn, John. Marriage in Decline. Zenit. http://www.zenit.org/article-35660?l=english

[17] Barrow, Mandy. What is family life like in Britain. Project Britain. http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/familylife.htm

[18] Instrumentum Laboris of 2012 Synod of Bishops, 51.

[19] IL, 52.

[20] IL, 55.

[21] IL, 57.

[22] IL, 65.

[23] Isaiah 6:8

[24] Gen 1:2

[25] Final list of the propositions of the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization, Proposition 55.

[26] Proposition, 39.

[27] Proposition 20.

[28] GS, 65.

[29] Proposition, 43.

[30] GS, 7