Religious Liberty at Vatican II

Abstract This chapter examines the complex gestation of Dignitatis Humanae and the crucial conciliar debates on the right to religious freedom, a new and controversial topic whose inclusion in the agenda of Vatican II was suggested by the World Council of Churches. This chapter traces the phases of debate from the preparatory work of the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity to the final promulgation of the document in the last public session of 7 December 1965. The debates over Dignitatis Humanae were marked by the difficulty of finding a compromise between ecumenical considerations and Church–State relations, civil liberties, and intersubjective rights. Dignitatis Humanae marked a decisive paradigm shift: with the acceptance of religious freedom, the Catholic Church brought into focus the principle that all religions have the same right to public expression in a democracy. The chapter concludes with a brief look at the profound differences in the cultural, theological, and socio-political backgrounds of the council fathers, which factored heavily in the conciliar debates on Dignitatis Humanae as well as in its reception.