DEMOCRACY, POPULISM AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Abstract

This paper explores the politics of populism, understood in its contemporary form of authoritarian appeals to ‘problem-solving’ leaders who circumvent democratic processes in protest against the perceived inadequacies of democratic parties and practices.
It argues that populism undermines a healthy sense of democracy, is contrary to Christian values in general, and, in particular, contrary to Catholic Social Teaching. That said, it is sobering to note that this moral rejection of populism is not helped by the historical ambivalence of Catholicism towards democracy. Hence, embracing a more synodal mode of governance might help the Church out of this contradiction.