Return of the Golden Calf: Economy, Idolatry, and Secularization since Gaudium et spes

Abstract

Pope Francis consistently addresses economic issues with the concept of idolatry, but Gaudium et spes treats the economy as an autonomous, secular realm amenable to technocratic solutions guided by principles of right reason. Cavanaugh accounts for this difference by examining changes in theories about secularization from the 1960s to the present. He argues that today we are less likely to see the secular realm as neutral and devoid of belief, and more likely to see it as enchanted and idolatrous.