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Prayer as a Political Problem
Decades before secularism and atheism wrested control of our institutions and took to the streets, the late Cardinal Jean Danielou foresaw their ominous ascent. While most of the Church was reveling in the optimism of Vatican II, Cardinal Danielou courageously sounded the alarm over the rise of these twin evils and the damage they would inflict on the Church and culture.
Christianity, he argues, is in grave danger of being overwhelmed by the concurrent rise of seductive technologies, secularist doctrines, and atheistic ideologies. Modern society is allowing less and less space for the religious dimension of man, which is creating conditions that place the survival of the Christian people very much in doubt.
But the surging secularism of privileged elites is not what concerned Danielou the most. Rather, he feared the de-Christianization of the masses and the effect that would have on society — and on civilization itself. Why? Because when a Christian people is subverted and destroyed, it can be built back up again only through a long, painstaking effort.
In Prayer as a Political Problem, Danielou explains the conditions that are necessary to build and maintain a Christian people. He explains why civilization requires that the Catholic Faith be truly rooted in society, with her teachings and sacraments available to all.
He argues that we must make great strides now to change the shape and pattern of society if we are to preserve the common good of mankind. And if this fails, how our last remaining option will be to create oases of Christian communities where faith and vocations can develop and survive.
There is much work to be done before the flower of Christendom can bloom once again. This little book provides an indispensable primer on how it can be done, as well as the impetus to begin doing it.
Christianity, he argues, is in grave danger of being overwhelmed by the concurrent rise of seductive technologies, secularist doctrines, and atheistic ideologies. Modern society is allowing less and less space for the religious dimension of man, which is creating conditions that place the survival of the Christian people very much in doubt.
But the surging secularism of privileged elites is not what concerned Danielou the most. Rather, he feared the de-Christianization of the masses and the effect that would have on society — and on civilization itself. Why? Because when a Christian people is subverted and destroyed, it can be built back up again only through a long, painstaking effort.
In Prayer as a Political Problem, Danielou explains the conditions that are necessary to build and maintain a Christian people. He explains why civilization requires that the Catholic Faith be truly rooted in society, with her teachings and sacraments available to all.
He argues that we must make great strides now to change the shape and pattern of society if we are to preserve the common good of mankind. And if this fails, how our last remaining option will be to create oases of Christian communities where faith and vocations can develop and survive.
There is much work to be done before the flower of Christendom can bloom once again. This little book provides an indispensable primer on how it can be done, as well as the impetus to begin doing it.
102 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
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About the author
Jean Daniélou
126 books42 followersJean Daniélou S.J. (1905–1974) was a theologian, historian, cardinal and a member of the Académie Française.
Jean-Guenolé-Marie Daniélou was born at Neuilly-sur-Seine, son of Charles and Madeleine (née Clamorgan). His father was an anticlerical politician, several times minister, and his mother an educator and founder of institutions for women's education. His brother Alain (1907–1964) was a noted Indologist.
Daniélou studied at the Sorbonne, and passed his agrégation in Grammar in 1927. He joined the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1929, becoming an educator, initially at a boys' school in Poitiers. He subsequently studied theology at Fourvière in Lyon under Henri de Lubac, who introduced him to patristics, the study of the Fathers of the Church. He was ordained in 1938.
During World War II, he served with the Armée de l'Air (Air Force) in 1939–1940. He was demobilised and returned to civilian life. He received his doctorate in theology in 1942 and was appointed chaplain to the ENSJF, the female section of the École Normale Supérieure, at Sèvres. It was at this time that he began his own writings on patristics. He was one of the founders of the Sources Chrétiennes collection. In 1944 he was made Professor of Early Christian History at the Institut Catholique de Paris, and later became dean. Beginning in the 1950s, he produced several historical studies, including The Bible and the Liturgy, The Lord of History, and From Shadows to Reality, that provided a major impetus to the development of Covenantal Theology.
At the request of Pope John XXIII, he served as an expert to the Second Vatican Council, and in 1969 was consecrated as a bishop and made a cardinal by Pope Paul VI. He was elected to the Académie Française on 9 November 1972, to succeed Cardinal Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant.
His unexpected death in 1974, in the home of a prostitute, was very diversely interpreted. He died on the stairs of a brothel that he was visiting. It turned out he was bringing her money to pay for the bail of her lover. Thanks to a group including Henri Marrou, his reputation was cleared.
Jean-Guenolé-Marie Daniélou was born at Neuilly-sur-Seine, son of Charles and Madeleine (née Clamorgan). His father was an anticlerical politician, several times minister, and his mother an educator and founder of institutions for women's education. His brother Alain (1907–1964) was a noted Indologist.
Daniélou studied at the Sorbonne, and passed his agrégation in Grammar in 1927. He joined the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1929, becoming an educator, initially at a boys' school in Poitiers. He subsequently studied theology at Fourvière in Lyon under Henri de Lubac, who introduced him to patristics, the study of the Fathers of the Church. He was ordained in 1938.
During World War II, he served with the Armée de l'Air (Air Force) in 1939–1940. He was demobilised and returned to civilian life. He received his doctorate in theology in 1942 and was appointed chaplain to the ENSJF, the female section of the École Normale Supérieure, at Sèvres. It was at this time that he began his own writings on patristics. He was one of the founders of the Sources Chrétiennes collection. In 1944 he was made Professor of Early Christian History at the Institut Catholique de Paris, and later became dean. Beginning in the 1950s, he produced several historical studies, including The Bible and the Liturgy, The Lord of History, and From Shadows to Reality, that provided a major impetus to the development of Covenantal Theology.
At the request of Pope John XXIII, he served as an expert to the Second Vatican Council, and in 1969 was consecrated as a bishop and made a cardinal by Pope Paul VI. He was elected to the Académie Française on 9 November 1972, to succeed Cardinal Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant.
His unexpected death in 1974, in the home of a prostitute, was very diversely interpreted. He died on the stairs of a brothel that he was visiting. It turned out he was bringing her money to pay for the bail of her lover. Thanks to a group including Henri Marrou, his reputation was cleared.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 21, 2023
This being the second work by Fr. Danielou which I've read, I enjoyed this work concerning the relationship between civilization and Christianity as a whole. Having written in the 1960's, there are certainly paradigms found in the civilization of today that Fr. Danielou would likely have never imagined. And yet, he drops some hot takes which not only gave me reason for pause, but also challenged me to evaluate how I see the role of the Church in the contemporary world.
April 30, 2021
My review is now in Radix Magazine.
April 8, 2022
What an incredible and succinct work this is! Danielou makes a number of points which are extremely relevant to us today in the 20th century. First, he argues that Christianity is for the masses, the "poor", and not simply a small cult of believers. He then makes the case for why civilization and Christianity are interdependent, and how the political order must recognize religious freedom and practice and, even more, create a society that allows spiritual life (prayer) to flourish. Most people, Danielou says, are not strong enough to be able to practice religion under hostile circumstances, such as those we find ourselves in today. However, with some help, namely by creating a, environment which is conductive to prayer and the spiritual life, man can turn his mind to God. Indeed, he says that "A city which does not possess churches as well as factories is not fit for men. It is inhuman."
Danielou also argues that technology must not be viewed as evil or inherently bad, but simply as the infrastructure on which our civilization is built. Left to itself or used for the wrong ends, technology can become a snare. But with a grounded understanding of the universe and final ends for which technology is properly understood as being a means to achieve, it can be a great thing which improves the human condition and brings us closer to God. Danielou also notes that art must not become enslaved by technology, but that art is essentially the language of the sacred and it allows us to better understand and relate to reality.
Finally, Danielou considers paganism and how Christianity relates to it. In a truly insightful and prophetic paragraph, he asserts that atheism is but a transitory phase, and that we will soon enter (writing in 1967) into a new phase of "industrial paganism" which we are in today, as compared to the agrarian paganism of old. He believes that paganism must be lifted up, purified, and transfigured by Christianity. He notes that Christianity is not a mere religion, but Divine Revelation, God speaking to Man. He argues that it is necessary and proper to take what is good from paganism and discard what is bad. He also says that Christianity cannot simply be Western, but must be Universal, and therefore open to lifting up, purifying, and transfiguring pagan cultures outside of the West. Essentially, Christianity must do in Africa, India, and the East what it has done in the West. It cannot just be Western culture imposed on others.
I loved this book and I think it is incredibly pertinent to today. The author makes wonderful points and does so in a clear and concise way. At only 117 pages, this is an easy yet enlightening read.
Danielou also argues that technology must not be viewed as evil or inherently bad, but simply as the infrastructure on which our civilization is built. Left to itself or used for the wrong ends, technology can become a snare. But with a grounded understanding of the universe and final ends for which technology is properly understood as being a means to achieve, it can be a great thing which improves the human condition and brings us closer to God. Danielou also notes that art must not become enslaved by technology, but that art is essentially the language of the sacred and it allows us to better understand and relate to reality.
Finally, Danielou considers paganism and how Christianity relates to it. In a truly insightful and prophetic paragraph, he asserts that atheism is but a transitory phase, and that we will soon enter (writing in 1967) into a new phase of "industrial paganism" which we are in today, as compared to the agrarian paganism of old. He believes that paganism must be lifted up, purified, and transfigured by Christianity. He notes that Christianity is not a mere religion, but Divine Revelation, God speaking to Man. He argues that it is necessary and proper to take what is good from paganism and discard what is bad. He also says that Christianity cannot simply be Western, but must be Universal, and therefore open to lifting up, purifying, and transfiguring pagan cultures outside of the West. Essentially, Christianity must do in Africa, India, and the East what it has done in the West. It cannot just be Western culture imposed on others.
I loved this book and I think it is incredibly pertinent to today. The author makes wonderful points and does so in a clear and concise way. At only 117 pages, this is an easy yet enlightening read.
August 27, 2023
This is a fine, slim volume, originally published in French in the mid-1960s. I would have never known of it were it not for the political theorist Patrick Deneen. Deneen and his post-liberal confrères are currently grappling, in books, journals, and Substacks, about how the balance between religion and civic life should be struck. Among many other insights and disquisitions on how the common good should be constituted in America, they repeatedly make the trenchant point that "you're going to serve someone," just like Bob Dylan sang (whether you want to or not; whether you think you are or not). Daniélou and every theologian worth his salt have also made a version of this argument since the dawn of modernity.
The modern thinks he's carved out a neutral, agnostic space in which to ply his wares, make his fortune, liberate his libido, and consume his culture, but that neutral space is shot through with and inscribed with a many different gods, ethics, first principles, precepts, and modes of "worship," etc. The modern world is the air we breathe so it feels normal; the status quo seems neutral (that's why phrases like "Jesus freaks" roll so easily off the tongue)--who could possible believe in anything transcendental or in any metaphysical reality that confers onto us more obligations and responsibilities other than individual freedom, equality, and a dim sense of right and wrong.
Daniélou is not a fire breather, which makes sense because neither is Deneen (who frequently cites this volume). Daniélou makes his arguments about God and modernity, God and technology, the proper place of prayer and worship in the modern world, across easily digestible chapters that are well-paced and not too long.
The modern thinks he's carved out a neutral, agnostic space in which to ply his wares, make his fortune, liberate his libido, and consume his culture, but that neutral space is shot through with and inscribed with a many different gods, ethics, first principles, precepts, and modes of "worship," etc. The modern world is the air we breathe so it feels normal; the status quo seems neutral (that's why phrases like "Jesus freaks" roll so easily off the tongue)--who could possible believe in anything transcendental or in any metaphysical reality that confers onto us more obligations and responsibilities other than individual freedom, equality, and a dim sense of right and wrong.
Daniélou is not a fire breather, which makes sense because neither is Deneen (who frequently cites this volume). Daniélou makes his arguments about God and modernity, God and technology, the proper place of prayer and worship in the modern world, across easily digestible chapters that are well-paced and not too long.
March 15, 2022
In this work, Danielou properly addresses what ails our modern age, namely, with the development of technology. He also addresses the necessity of religion and the government's role in producing a society which man is able to pray and dialogue with God. Most importantly, Danielou exhorts all Christians to serve their neighbors in the political order, as the Gospels demand us to serve our brethren in this world in order that we may be with each other in the next.
Danielou seems more optimistic than myself, and I was disappointed because he didn't seem to provide many practical solutions to the issues of our time. The conclusion provides a good summary of the work as a whole.
Danielou seems more optimistic than myself, and I was disappointed because he didn't seem to provide many practical solutions to the issues of our time. The conclusion provides a good summary of the work as a whole.
January 15, 2021
This short, digestible reflection offers cogent and relevant considerations on the need for prayer to be addressed socially. Fr. Danielou makes clear that this is an urgent issue to which the Church must once again give attention. His writing on the relationship between art and modern technology leaves the reader begging for more, and one wishes he had the opportunity to give further thoughts on it before he died.
December 14, 2024
The chapter on "Religion and Revelation" was particularly striking.
July 15, 2014
A passage from this book was covered in the Theology of the Church class I am currently taking, and during the lectures the professor described the book as one that made a "sea change" in his thinking when he first read it. Just recently he wrote an article in which he re-visited the book, and this demonstration of the impact it continues to have on him inspired me to read it. I quickly discovered that it is out of print, not available as an e-book, and only available in a select few academic libraries (not any nearby public libraries as far as I could tell). So I made the trek today to the university my distance learning class is based from, which is about an hour from where I live, and read the book in the university library. I think it should be more widely available, because it is still an excellent reminder of important things we need to remember in any era, and particularly in the times we live in now.
For someone who has grown up in a country that has had religious freedom since hundreds of years before I was born, it is eye-opening to see someone in a socialist country in the 1960s make a case for religious freedom. The author is Catholic, but he doesn't make the case just for Catholicism or even for all of Christianity; he says: "It is not to be supposed that civil authority has competence of itself to decide upon the truth or otherwise of a religion. That to which it is bound by Natural Law is to recognize the reality of religion under whatever form that reality shows itself at any given time and place." (pg 20)
For their part, churches have the responsibility to be vital, faith-filled communities that are accessible to all and that support their members in their faith, because "it is practically impossible for (an individual) to persevere in a milieu which offers him no support." (page 16) The key argument is that religion should be available to all, not just to a chosen few, because the religious tendency is a foundational part of a person's life and because Christ offers salvation to all.
It is important to remember that even though we have enjoyed our religious liberties for so many years, we can never take them for granted. Other chapters in this book discuss the balance that needs to exist between the good achieved by technological advances and the tendency to think that they can save humans from all ills of society, and the role of art in expressing sacred things in a way that corresponds to the development of science & technology rather than being swallowed up by that technology. Both chapters caution that when not kept in perspective, science and art can lead us to glorify humans rather than God.
Next there is a discussion of the difference between religion and revelation: "One does not have to be a Christian to believe in God. One does have to be a Christian to believe that God has come among men. Religion in general is a turning of man towards God; revelation bears witness to a turning of God towards man...Revelation is the work of God alone. Man contributes nothing to it, nor does it belong to him. It is a pure gift. It is in itself infallible, true in a sense which can be applied only to God Himself...Religion does not offer salvation; only Jesus Christ does that". (pp. 88-89)
He concludes by stating that as Christians, we are called to work for the betterment of earthly civilization; by so doing, we serve God and our brethren as Jesus said: "He who gives a glass of water to these little ones gives it to Me." (pg. 120)
For someone who has grown up in a country that has had religious freedom since hundreds of years before I was born, it is eye-opening to see someone in a socialist country in the 1960s make a case for religious freedom. The author is Catholic, but he doesn't make the case just for Catholicism or even for all of Christianity; he says: "It is not to be supposed that civil authority has competence of itself to decide upon the truth or otherwise of a religion. That to which it is bound by Natural Law is to recognize the reality of religion under whatever form that reality shows itself at any given time and place." (pg 20)
For their part, churches have the responsibility to be vital, faith-filled communities that are accessible to all and that support their members in their faith, because "it is practically impossible for (an individual) to persevere in a milieu which offers him no support." (page 16) The key argument is that religion should be available to all, not just to a chosen few, because the religious tendency is a foundational part of a person's life and because Christ offers salvation to all.
It is important to remember that even though we have enjoyed our religious liberties for so many years, we can never take them for granted. Other chapters in this book discuss the balance that needs to exist between the good achieved by technological advances and the tendency to think that they can save humans from all ills of society, and the role of art in expressing sacred things in a way that corresponds to the development of science & technology rather than being swallowed up by that technology. Both chapters caution that when not kept in perspective, science and art can lead us to glorify humans rather than God.
Next there is a discussion of the difference between religion and revelation: "One does not have to be a Christian to believe in God. One does have to be a Christian to believe that God has come among men. Religion in general is a turning of man towards God; revelation bears witness to a turning of God towards man...Revelation is the work of God alone. Man contributes nothing to it, nor does it belong to him. It is a pure gift. It is in itself infallible, true in a sense which can be applied only to God Himself...Religion does not offer salvation; only Jesus Christ does that". (pp. 88-89)
He concludes by stating that as Christians, we are called to work for the betterment of earthly civilization; by so doing, we serve God and our brethren as Jesus said: "He who gives a glass of water to these little ones gives it to Me." (pg. 120)
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews