Render unto Caesar: a book review

We as Catholics have a duty to be involved in the political affairs of our community and country. It is a part of evangelization to be sure, but more than this it is putting our money where our mouth is when it comes to living out our Catholic faith. But exactly what is that supposed to look like?

Archbishop Chaput writes several compelling arguments in his book Render unto Caesar. As you might have guessed, Chaput sums his arguments around Jesus’ famous words to the Pharisees and the Herodians when they, trying to trip him up, ask him if it is unlawful to pay the Roman tax. Jesus asks whose inscription is on the coin; they answer that it is Caesars. “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21)

Render unto Caesar delves in to our responsibility to Jesus’ response. We as Catholics have a rich theology which is very explicit, especially when it comes to Catholic social teaching, or the way that a Catholic should view the world through their faith. As American Catholics, we are given the amazing freedom to practice our faith in the public square, a liberty which most Catholics around the world do not share with us. It might seem that there is no room for the Catholic worldview in today’s America. However being counter cultural has never made one wrong, and certainly never made one un-American; just ask the founders!

Jesus made it clear that some things were in fact ‘property’ of earthly rulers, but wisely clarified that we owed something altogether different to God. Before America’s founding, the separation of Church and State was never implemented. In fact, the monarchs and rulers of old always claimed ‘divine authority’ as their ‘right to rule.’ Christianity has always made a clear distinction of what allegiances are owed to kings, and which are owed to God. But herein lies the heart of the issue: these forces should never be opposed. And if they are, it means that the king has no claim to authority. At least this is the way that the founders saw it. But then what is the ultimate authority?

The founders claimed that “Nature’s God”¹ was the ultimate authority by which to judge regimes. And that when regimes failed to govern by the Natural Law, that they are no longer entitled to rule. The Natural Law is not man’s natural disposition, nor does this law flow from nature, but is rather the full recognition of man’s deep seated responsibility to his conscience, and ultimately to a moral life. Living by the Natural Law invokes autonomy and self-restraint, integrity and virtue, and those good dispositions of humanity which create a society which is not only qualified, but capable of governing themselves.

Archbishop Chaput makes clear in Render unto Caesar that our country is not founded on religion, or the Gospel, or even God. It is founded on the notion that no principality can deny man his right to freedom; a freedom which can be found by his allegiance to the Natural Law. What does this mean in for Catholics in the public sphere? It means that, of all the many voices blasting political noise today, there is not one more sincere to preserving the country which our founders established or one more aligned to the founders than the Catholic one.

Catholic social teaching is founded in absolute equality among the children of God. It is rooted in the true common good of society both in our country and abroad. And it is a strong voice for natural morality, real freedom, and not only promises but delivers true happiness and peace for all peoples. Despite a long history of Catholic suspicion, America as a principled constitutional republic finds its last ally in the American Catholic community; at least on paper.

Chaput points to a glaring apathy in today’s modern American Catholic. It seems that, in practice, we are just as politicized and secular as the population at large. We simply don’t practice what the Church preaches! Chaput’s main argument in the book is for us to be better educated in our faith, and to use that knowledge to make political decisions; instead of the secular model of doing it the other way around. This is coupled with his second argument, which is to do his main argument boldly.

In today’s modern world, the idea of separation of Church and State is sorely abused, and there is certainly an anti-Christian (especially anti-Catholic) sentiment. This cannot be overlooked, but it certainly cannot be submitted to. The latter seems to be the choice among recent generations of Catholics, and this must change. Not because we need to in order to save our country, but because we must in order to save our souls. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who struggles with the Catholics role in American politics. This is also a great historical resource to understand the most basic concepts of our country’s founding which have become so foreign to modern Americans. It was a compelling read start to finish, and would be a great help to any faithful Catholic trying to navigate our increasingly hostile and turbulent political sphere.

1 The Declaration of Independence