A theologian in dialogue within the seculariyed public arena in Slovenia

Roman Globokar

University of Ljubjana

Abstract

The democratic Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia stipulates a strict separation of church and state. After the independence in 1991, a strong process of secularization is noticed. The number of people who declared themselves Catholic declined drastically in the last two decades. Some reasons both from inside the Church and outside of it are analysed in the first part of the paper. In the second part, the author presents from his personal perspective
some ways to contribute as a theologian to the public ethical discourse in the secularized society. He emphasizes the need for the argumentative and understandable statements. Theological vocabulary should be translated to the language that today’s people could understand. Last the author presents his work as a theologian at the State University, in the National Bioethics Committee and in the field of education. Theological ethics is a bridge between the rich moral tradition of the church and the contemporary secular society. The theologian needs to be both humble and conscious of our social determinism, but also courageous to propose some alternative solutions in collaborating with other social agents for the common good in society. Christian anthropology is an inexhaustible source of inspiration for building a better world for everyone.

Keywords:

secularization, dialogue, bopethics comitee, education, rational argumentation, sources of moral theology, Christian anthropology, public arena