The Theology of Conscience in America, 1940-1989

“… conscience, the subjective guide for moral decision-making, when religious laws no longer hold authority or a state’s laws compel unjust actions. ”

Team Members/Contributors

Peter S. Cajka Boston College Contact Me

About this dissertation fellowship

In the late twentieth century, Catholics transformed American moral and political life with the theological language of conscience. My dissertation shows that Catholics, along with mainline Protestants and human rights activists, attempted throughout the late twentieth century to make authorities sensitive to the subjective dimensions of Christian moral life. Presbyterian activists in the Emergency Ministry on Conscience and War promoted the “formation of conscience.” Congregationalist activists lobbied for the “rights of conscience.” Amnesty International campaigned to free “Prisoners of Conscience” throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

My dissertation tells the story of how American Catholics were responsible for teaching mainline Protestants and human rights activists the moral language of conscience. In response to the rapid diffusion of artificial birth control pills and the drafting of thousands of Catholic men for the Vietnam War, Catholics increasingly turned to the theology of conscience to navigate their own internal debates. Catholics had a well-established tradition of promoting conscience dating back immediately to the 1940s and 1950s.

The theology of conscience spread widely between 1960 and 1985.This dissertation demonstrates how American Catholics’ vigorous promotion of the “theology of conscience” transformed moral discourse and religious activism. The theology of conscience ultimately helped thousands of Americans place theological commitments to the subjective dimensions of Christian moral life in front of their political commitments as citizens.