The differences as contemporary ethos and praxis: on the dialectics between foundation and application of normative-religious paradigms

Abstract

In the text, we put the category of differences as anthropological-ontological and epistemological-moral contemporary ethos and praxis which challenge-streamline institutionalized and universalist religions, for example the Catholic Church, in their use of essentialist and naturalized foundations as normative-paradigmatic basis for framing, legitimation and orientation of these differences, as basement for the dialectics between plurality and unity regarding these differences. From that, we will argue that the institutionalized and universalist religions’ central challenge – and, in our case again, the Catholic Church’s central challenge – consists in the deconstruction of the correlation among strong institutionalism, strict anthropological-ontological and epistemological-moral objectivity and political-normative fundamentalism. In this sense, as long as religious institutions bring the differences as normative praxis and epistemological-political subjects into their internal dynamic of constitution, legitimation and social foment of the creed, it is possible to achieve the weakening and the moderation – and perhaps the own abandonment – of the essentialist and naturalized foundations as basis for framing of all areas of human life. Anyway, as we think, this must be the case for gender and sexuality, which could not and should not be grounded on such an essentialist and naturalized basis.