LESSONS OF THE ITALIAN REFERENDUM: THE FAILURE OF THE SECULARIST ACTIVISTS
In a new article published on the web site http://www.chiesa.espressonline.it/ of Sandro Magister, an analysis of Pietro Di Marco on the Italian referendum on assisted reproduction was published. Di Marco is a lecturer of Religion Sociology at the University of Florence and a specialist of Religious geopolitics.
The analysis is interesting because it gives some lessons on the influence of the « dictatorship of relativism » or, if you prefer the secular school of thought, and the ways of counterbalancing its influence.
Di Marco points out that there was a mobilization of the radical secular and feminist activists which accounts for about 20 % of the population. On the contrary, most of the population remained indifferent to ideological trends of the secular activists.
He also confirms the intelligence of choosing the strategy of abstention, since the secular activists had made the calculation that even a call to vote « no » would end up in giving a majority for the « yes » while ensuring that the quorum of 50 % + 1 would be obtained. Hence, the only viable strategy for opposing the referendum was of not voting. Nevertheless, even among those people who went to vote, about 12 % replied « no » to the first three questions (selection and use of embryos and therapeutical cloning) and 22 % replied « no » to the fourth questions (authorization of heterologous IVF).
Di Marco also stresses that the pro-referendum activism was the fact of « sociétés de pensées » which designate a section of the intelligentsia with secularist tendencies which tend to present themselves as having alone legitimacy to speak in the name of the society.
The phenomenon analysed by Di Marco is interesting in that it is reproduced also in France and in Belgium, where the same « intelligentsia » has deeply influenced (or sought to influence) evolutions in the fields of bioethics. Generally situated at the left of the political exchequer, this intelligentsia is also over-represented within university and secundary school lecturers.
The conclusion of Di Marco is that, in Italy at least, the conditions are present to establish a project of society between secularists and Catholics around a form of « Christian intelligence». This points out the necessity of developping a viable counter-argumentation around questions of bioethics, if life is to be defended.
To read the full article (in Italian) click here.
The analysis is interesting because it gives some lessons on the influence of the « dictatorship of relativism » or, if you prefer the secular school of thought, and the ways of counterbalancing its influence.
Di Marco points out that there was a mobilization of the radical secular and feminist activists which accounts for about 20 % of the population. On the contrary, most of the population remained indifferent to ideological trends of the secular activists.
He also confirms the intelligence of choosing the strategy of abstention, since the secular activists had made the calculation that even a call to vote « no » would end up in giving a majority for the « yes » while ensuring that the quorum of 50 % + 1 would be obtained. Hence, the only viable strategy for opposing the referendum was of not voting. Nevertheless, even among those people who went to vote, about 12 % replied « no » to the first three questions (selection and use of embryos and therapeutical cloning) and 22 % replied « no » to the fourth questions (authorization of heterologous IVF).
Di Marco also stresses that the pro-referendum activism was the fact of « sociétés de pensées » which designate a section of the intelligentsia with secularist tendencies which tend to present themselves as having alone legitimacy to speak in the name of the society.
The phenomenon analysed by Di Marco is interesting in that it is reproduced also in France and in Belgium, where the same « intelligentsia » has deeply influenced (or sought to influence) evolutions in the fields of bioethics. Generally situated at the left of the political exchequer, this intelligentsia is also over-represented within university and secundary school lecturers.
The conclusion of Di Marco is that, in Italy at least, the conditions are present to establish a project of society between secularists and Catholics around a form of « Christian intelligence». This points out the necessity of developping a viable counter-argumentation around questions of bioethics, if life is to be defended.
To read the full article (in Italian) click here.
posted by dawnofeurope | 10:36 am
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