What Is Natural Law?

Last updated on: August 3, 2021 at 10:58 am by Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC

What Is Natural Law? 2021-08-03T10:58:22-04:00 Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC

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This weekend, Aleteia published a piece I wrote attempting to explain natural law. I was at a theology conference so didn’t re-post it right away. This is designed to be a simple introduction for the average person as many other explanations I saw were a little complex. Hopefully, it’s helpful for you or for people you know.

Symbols of law (CC0 pixabay)

In discussions on morality and legal issues, we often hear the term “natural law.” However, almost every time I’ve seen it used outside the context of academic Catholic philosophy and theology, I see people misunderstanding it.

Unfortunately, most explanations I’ve seen likely go over many people’s heads. I hope to provide an explanation an average person can understand in three steps: 1) natural, 2) law, and 3) Church teaching. After that, I’ll take up some misunderstandings.

You can read the rest of it over at Aleteia.

Note: If you appreciated this, please support me on Patreon so I can write more analysis on the news from the perspective of Catholic theology.

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