Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life

“People who take God seriously will not remain silent about their faith. They will often disagree about doctrine or policy, but they won’t be quiet. They can’t be. They’ll act on what they believe, sometimes at the cost of their reputations and careers. Obviously the common good demands a respect for other people with different beliefs and a willingness to compromise whenever possible. But for Catholics, the common good can never mean muting themselves in public debate on foundational issues of human dignity. Christian faith is always personal but never private. This is why any notion of tolerance that tries to reduce faith to private idiosyncrasy, or a set of opinions that we can indulge at home but need to be quiet about in public, will always fail.”

—From the Introduction

Few topics in recent years have ignited as much public debate as the balance between religion and politics. Does religious thought have any place in political discourse? Do religious believers have the right to turn their values into political action? What does it truly mean to have a separation of church and state? The very heart of these important questions is here addressed by one of the leading voices on the topic, Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Denver.

As the nation’s founders knew very well, people are fallible. The majority of voters, as history has shown again and again, can be uninformed, misinformed, biased, or simply wrong. Thus, to survive, American democracy depends on an engaged citizenry —people of character, including religious believers, fighting for their beliefs in the public square—respectfully but vigorously, and without apology. Anything less is bad citizenship and a form of theft from the nation’s health. Or as the author suggests: Good manners are not an excuse for political cowardice.

Vivid, provocative, clear, and compelling, Render unto Caesar is a call to American Catholics to serve the highest ideals of their nation by first living their Catholic faith deeply, authentically.

About the Author:

Charles Joseph Chaput is the Archbishop of Denver, Colorado. He was ordained to the priesthood on August 29, 1970. He received a Master's degree in Theology from the University of San Francisco in 1971. From 1971 to 1974, he was an instructor in theology and spiritual director at his alma mater of St. Fidelis College. He then served as executive secretary and director of communications for the Capuchin province in Pittsburgh until 1977, whence he became pastor of Holy Cross Church in Thornton, Colorado. On April 11, 1988, Chaput was appointed Bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota, by John Paul II. He became the second priest of Native American ancestry to be ordained a bishop in the United States. He chose as his episcopal motto: "As Christ Loved the Church" (Ephesians 5:25). He was appointed Denver's archbishop on March 18, 1997.