The Role of Catholicism in Shaping a Culture of Sustainable Consumption

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

It would be interesting to investigate if there are already economic doctrines that can be explicitly supported by religious organizations. The author would only need at least to acknowledge one or more economic doctrines or lines of thought in scientific inquiry that go in the same direction of religious propositions on social wellness. Asway of example, D. H. Meadows, Limits to Growth, can be an interesting starting point for looking at convergences, if any, between religious thoughts on consumerisms and alternative ways of consumption and economic growth. As the paper's focus regards mainly the documental output of the Roman Catholic Church (plus a case study), it is not required a detailed analysis of such economic thoughts, but the recognition of major perspectives in the same economic scientific landscape, that suggest more sustainable life-styles, would improve the overall quality of the paper.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you very much for all your comments concerning my article and for your positive review of the text. I agree with your opinions and have made the suggested changes. In the conclusion, I have provided an overview of the development of economic thought since the 1970s. I have added comments on environmental economy and the economy of sustainable development, highlighting the elements they promote to reduce the consumption of material goods, and their promotion of ethical principles. I have also presented Pope Francis’ initiative to develop a new economic concept known as “The Economy of Francesco,” which seems to be in full conformity with the culture of moderation.

Best regards,

Reviewer 2 Report

I have not any comments for authors.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for your positive review of my article.

Best regards,

 

Reviewer 3 Report

It is a well-researched and quite original article with clear arguments.  

Let me focus on some points where it could be improved:

• definition of key terms like "the culture of moderation".
  • I would invite the author to think about where moderation stems from in a religious context or better to say in the case of a religious attitude towards God and creation.  It is the very relationship to the divine that transforms our ideas of richness and poverty up to the paradoxical point where we could say with St. Therese: Whoever has God lacks nothing;
    God alone suffices. Having this experience one might be resistant to the aggressive transformative logic of the globalized market economy and commodity fetishism. 
• sustainable consumption
  • I wonder whether from the very perspective of the author one can accept this term without making important distinctions and clarifications. There are several presuppositions here worth of elucidating: 1) it belongs merely and solely to the human responsibility of sustaining economy; sustainable consumption is equal to economic welfare; 3) the economic well-being and progress of humanity are due to consumption; 4) responsible consumption must be understood in relation to resources and ecology and not also and even primordially in relation to the divine who offers himself to be consumed. In short: I wonder whether the theological and metaphisical implications of the Christian faith do not require a strong criticism of this term. The inner change of the heart - the author is arguing for - results in changing our vocabulary as well for the simple reason that words must depict how the world is transformed by Christ. 

The paper is quite well structured, yet it would be helpful for the reader to have more undertitles. Especially on page 9, line 409 I would suggest highlighting that the following paragraphs detail the new model of progress.

Concerning the case study offered by the author, one might want to take a comparative look at Hungary's failed intent to pass a similar bill. It is interesting that Christian values can only be affirmed and successfully promoted if there is a significant Christian culture sustained by diverse Christian communities. 

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Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you very much for all your comments concerning my article, and for your positive review of the text. I generally share your opinion. Indeed, it seems important to explain my understanding of the basic terms used in the paper, the culture of moderation and sustainable consumption, particularly to readers who have not been directly concerned with this subject. I have added two fair-sized paragraphs in the introduction to provide an overview of how these two terms are understood.

As far as the comparison of restrictions on Sunday trading introduced in Poland and Hungary, however, regretfully I have not been able to follow your suggestions, for several reasons. Firstly, this would take a long time, since I do not know the Hungarian case in this regard. An additional difficulty is my ignorance of the Hungarian language; I believe that only some rather general information in English can be found. Secondly, expanding the case study would mean adding more pages to the article, which is already quite voluminous. Thirdly, I was given only five days to correct the article, which is not sufficient to perform the task you have outlined. I do hope I can count on your understanding in this respect.

Best regards,

 

Reviewer 4 Report

The issue raised in the article is very topical and relevant. The presented article gave me a certain reflection that can be included in its clarification. It seems to me that it should be supplemented with certain aspects in order to avoid the accusation of bias.

           Welfare societies today face very serious moral challenges, where religious awareness is an ally in finding solutions. It is a paradox, however, that often the higher the level of prosperity, the weaker the religiosity. The level of secularization is greatest in societies where consumption has turned into its pathological version in the form of consumerism. In these societies, often spontaneously and sometimes in a politically stimulated way, the role of religion and the Church in social life is depreciated. This is where a serious danger arises. On the one hand, the teaching of the Church is marginalized, and on the other, on the other hand, it uses its potential to carry out important social tasks. For this reason, the Church and its teaching may be instrumentalized by various political forces or organizations. [Climate policy, ecology] What is worse, there may even be a kind of self-instrumentalisation by some members of the Church. He will be in a situation of selective and biased treatment of the Church's doctrine on social issues. According to H. de Lubac, the greatest danger for the Church is "world spirituality." [H. de Lubac, Meditations on the Church, WAM, Krakow 1997) Recently, Pope Francis also referred to this thesis in one of his speeches to priests studying in Rome. (L'osservatore Romano May 19, 2021). The fundamental problem is the lack of necessity to refer to God and His power in designing various pastoral and social activities. It seems to me that the conclusions should be formulated in a more balanced way. The Church's task is to preach the gospel in view of eternal salvation, and her teaching can never be reduced to particular tasks. Conscious and genuine religiosity must always take into account the temporal context, but it can never become an end in itself. This risks politicizing the mission of the Catholic Church. The risk of a strong political focus on ecological, climate change or other problems must also be taken into account.           The greatest danger of all ecological activities, which was emphasized by Benedict XVI, is talking about ecological challenges by eliminating man from the ecosystem. This is the result of a materialistic and atheistic vision of the world and of man. In this perspective, the role of the Church and religion is irrelevant. Moreover, it is an obstacle.           The culture of consumption is the effect of an increase in the level of prosperity, which in turn is the result of an anthropological error that reduces man only to the material sphere. It is impossible to overcome the social problems caused by consumerism without restoring an integral definition of man, also taking into account his religious and spiritual sphere. It can even be argued that the greater the level of secularization, the greater the risk of socially destructive attitudes. Failure to refer to God will always result in the need to find regulation of social life in an arbitrary, immediate and contextual manner. Such an approach does not guarantee success and may lead to social engineering, especially in the age of new media technologies.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you very much for your comments and for your thorough review of my article. I agree with all your opinions and share your fear that the Church may be used instrumentally in the field of ecology. Your opinions and reflections open new areas for discussion and are certainly worth following up on. Unfortunately, that would require considerably expanding the article, which I am unable to do in the five days I have been given for review and correction. I really appreciate your comments, however, and assure you that I will take them into account in my future publications on this topic. I do hope I can count on your understanding in this respect.

Best regards,