Question

St. Thomas Aquinas talks about "natural law", or rules of conduct known from human nature which he said expreses the will of God. He also wrote that marriage should be forever, and between one man and one woman, and that homosexuality and suicide were wrong. How would he fit into our society today?

Answer 1

Religion controlled much of human life on the past. Religions are one of the best and worst invention of human beings and Gods are their supreme creatures. The fear of unknown helped religions establish their superiority over people who didn’t have any worldly knowledge Thus, Church decided what has to be done in terms of marriage, homosexuality, suicide etc. Enlightenment and the age of reasoning reduced the significance of religion and their teaching significantly. This was supported by industrialisation, international business, science and technology and the pluralistic society where we live in today. Individual rights were given importance in the American constitution which also kept religion aside from politics by stating that religion is a private affair. Throughout history, people fought for their rights and got them because people had the right to decide who they want to be with and how they would like to die. Today, people could just choose whoever they want to be with and the LGBTQ group has been accepted in the society as normal people. Society is also renewing its policies on euthanasia where people believe that they have a right to die in dignity. So, in my opinion, Aquinas’ words wouldn’t hold any water today.

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