The transformation of supreme values: Evidence from Poland on salvation through civic engagement
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The transformation of supreme values: Evidence from Poland on salvation through civic engagement Jan Fałkowski1 · Przemysław Kurek1 Received: 3 September 2019 / Accepted: 15 October 2019 © The Author(s) 2019
Abstract Peter Bernholz has described how ideologies and religions with supreme values have used violence to accomplish their goals. We describe the transformation of supreme values through civic engagement and pro-social behavior (dedication to common good, charity, participation in social life) that rejects as unacceptable all forms of violence. Our focus is on Catholicism after the Second Vatican Council, which emphasized the lay faithful’s role in the Church’s mission of salvation in the world and affirmed categorically that the duty of layperson is to serve other people and society. Using data on Poland, we find that the lay faithful try to fulfil those duties. Religious observance measured by participation in Holy Communion and church attendance correlates positively with civic engagement measured by the number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Keywords Supreme values · Catholicism · Laypersons · Civic engagement · NGOs · Poland JEL Classification Z12 · L31
1 Introduction Bernholz (1993, 1995, 2004, 2006, 2017) has shown that ideologies based on “supreme values” use violence and terrorism to accomplish their goals. Supreme values define lexicographically preferred objectives that are considered by believers to be absolutely true (Bernholz 2004). Adherents of such preferences seek to accomplish the first-ranked one by all possible means. That includes sacrificing the lives of others, in addition to their own. To support his thesis, Bernholz (2017) provides various examples of ideologies based on supreme values that have existed over the centuries, including national socialism in Germany, communism in Russia, and—what is most important for this paper—various organizations resting significantly upon fusions of political and religious authorities. * Jan Fałkowski [email protected] Przemysław Kurek [email protected] 1
University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
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Public Choice
An intriguing question relates to the extent to which the goals prioritized by supreme values can be achieved in a peaceful manner. One option is to reform the ideology in question so that less expansionary aims are laid down and consequently fewer demands are placed on believers. This can be driven either by the economic inefficiencies resulting from a given ideology, in which case the ideology will be undermined on economic grounds, or by a military threat from an opposing ideology (Bernholz 1995). In some instances, however, especially in cases involving religious beliefs, such revisions of ideology may not be feasible. That is because some values brook no compromise. An alternative strategy therefore would be to find means of achieving non-negotiable aims in ways that do not rely on force but are based on peaceful missionary work (Bernholz 2006). The latter option is the focus of this pa
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