The Twentieth Century
Major Documents of Vatican II
Comparison with Vatican I
- Vatican I: Resist changes brought by modernity, assert central authority of church
- Vatican II: Embrace changes brought by modernity, more openness to laity and outsiders
Document on the church
- Before: emphasis on “the church” is the Vatican, Pope, Bishops (mediation)
- After: emphasis on “the church” is community of all those called by God (communion)
Document on other Christian denominations
- Before: dangerous heretics
- After: God works through other Christian churches too
Document on other religions
- Before: other religions are wrong, error has no rights
- After: (some) truth and holiness can be found in other religions, respect for all truth-seekers
More documents: on this world, on the liturgy, on the laity, on governments, on scripture, on priests and nuns
Terminology
Poll Everywhere
pollev.com/toddhanneken457
(Administer)
Schedule Planning
Options for an intermediate Theology course spring 2026
- The Forbidden Books
- The Life and Letters of Paul
- Home, Exile, and Diaspora
- Race and Racism
- Global Christianity
- Mary and the Marianists
- Advanced Theology: Catholicism, Secularism, and Atheism
Options for an intermediate Theology course fall 2026
- Introduction to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament
- Early Christian Literature: Suffering, Gender, and the Body
- Politics, Prophets, and Priests: Judaism in the Second Temple Period
- Miracles and Power
- Personal Religious Transformation
- Nonviolent Peacemaking
Others that may be offered again later
- Images of Women in the Hebrew Bible
- Men and Masculinity in the Hebrew Bible
- Introduction to the New Testament
- The Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles (or other NT Corpora)
- Healthcare and Medical Ethics
- Introduction to Moral Theology
- Catholic Social Ethics
- Sacraments, Rites, and Religious Symbols
- Christ and the Christian God (Christology)
- The Catholic Church and the Christian Community (Ecclesiology)
- Faith and Reason, Science and Religion
- Theology in the Southwest (Mexican American Studies minor)
If more than one of those sound appealing, it might be worth considering adding a theology minor. It only takes five classes beyond the core.
Reading Responses
Vatican 2
was there some backlash from the very conservative Catholic community responding to the transition of conservative views to more liberal views? I suppose the Church should be adapting to new ways and manners but isn’t that the whole point of the church to follow the same teachings?
Papacy
Controversy about Pope becoming an “influencer”
Why not lower-ranking bishops? An example would be the archbishop in San Antonio having a float in the fiesta parade.
History of the papacy from its origins.
Historical Developments
Secularism in Europe and US… Do you think that the end of Christendom is the slow death of Christianity? Becoming less and less tied to politics until it doesn't exist at all?
I wonder if this would even change back
The first three centuries of Christianity demonstrate that domination is not necessary for the Christian faith.
Why did the catholic church struggle to maintain power and relevance?
Basically I feel like religions are businesses implementing new ideas to fit the demographics of times in order to secure power. I wonder what would happen if the various institutionalized religions were suddenly not institutionalized?
How did industrialization impact theology?