The term woke It emerged in the Afro -American community as an alert against racism. The expression “Stay Woke” gained strength after the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012, referring to the idea of staying alert and conscious to racial injustice and police violence against the black population.
Years later its meaning was extended to refer to “a set of more or less specific militancy,” explains Argentine political scientist Agustín Laje in his recent book ”Globalism”.
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Some of these militancy, for example, revolve around sexual orientation, where an alleged oppressive system called “heteronormativity” is identified; to gender identity, in which the “transgeans” are oppressed; to sex, where the woman “is oppressed and the man is her oppressor”; to the skin color, where there will always be an oppressive race and is lived inside a racist system; Among other examples.
Wokism, explains Laje, is an “explosion of small stories, which discover oppression relations everywhere and that multiply without limit the identities of the oppressed and those of the oppressors.”
The Catholic Church has not published a pontifical document that specifically addresses this issue, but has indicated the problem of the proliferation of “ideologies that mutilate the heart of the Gospel” in the apostolic exhortation Break and rejoice of Pope Francis.
The teaching has explicitly referred to the “gender theory”, which – according to the statement The dignity of an endless on human dignity – “aims to deny the greatest possible difference between living beings: sexual difference.”
“It is unacceptable that some ideologies of this type, who intend to respond to certain aspirations sometimes understandable, try to impose itself as a unique thought that even determines the education of children,” adds the document.
Next, we present 8 keys to understand the ideology more thoroughly woke. The Ecuadorian priest and digital evangelizer P. Juan Carlos Vásconez offers, in an interview with ACI Press, a critical look from the Catholic faith.
1. Lo woke Justice appears, but is based on moral relativism
“The agenda woke It is presented as a movement that seeks social justice. But under that facade, it promotes a radical relativism that denies the objective truth, ”explained Fr. Vásconez, who is a doctor in moral theology, specialized in social networks and its impact on Christian life.
For him, this ideology “is based on the idea that reality depends on how one feels (oppressed), not on what it is”, which leads to “a deconstruction of fundamental principles such as human and moral nature.”
And he warns: “Although he says seeking equality, he ends up being an empty goodism that rejects natural law and divine revelation, pillars of the Christian faith.”
2. The wokismo Fill the moral void that secularism left
“It has permeated so fast because it explodes a moral void left by secularism,” says the priest.
According to the Pan -Hispanic Dictionary of legal Spanish, secularism implies the exclusion of the religious factor of the public sphere, relegating it to the strictly deprived sphere of personal consciousness.
In the opinion of the priest, in a society that no longer believes in absolute truths, woke It offers a “false compassion.”
The underlying problem, he adds, is that “by prioritizing feelings over reality, he moves away from the truth that God has inscribed in creation.” “This is serious, because a society without moral foundations becomes vulnerable to any ideology that sounds emotional but really lacks.”
3. The university: fertile land for the woke agenda
“The agenda woke He has sneaked into the academy by disguising his relativism as intellectual progress, “says Fr. Vásconez.” Concepts such as the ‘Disconstruction of Language’ or the ‘Structural oppression’ reject the objective reason and the universal truth, replacing them with a struggle of power based on subjective feelings. “
Citing the jurist Joseph Weiler, he points out that this process “is a corruption of youth, who no longer dares to question.” “Universities should look for wisdom, but they are becoming ideology factories where the truth is confused with what ‘feels good,” laments P. Vásconez.
4. Wokism is not tolerance, but cancellation
“He woke He has turned tolerance into an intolerance weapon. His apparent goodism does not support the dissent, and instead of dialogue, cancels, ”denounces the presbyter.
For the priest, this “betrays freedom of expression and critical spirit”, and is the fruit “of relativism that fears the truth, because the truth confronts.”
“The Church calls us to correct with charity, not to silence,” he says. “But he woke He prefers the comfort of a unique thought, a reflection of a society that has lost the courage to face reality as it is. ”
5. seeks to uproot the truth, the family and God
“He woke It seeks to impose a world where everything is fluid: gender, moral, truth, “he says.” He wants to uproot the family, divine authority and the very nature of the human being, replacing them with a self -defined identity that depends only on feelings. “
For Fr. Vásconez, it is “a mentality that silence the debate and corrupt”, and that “if you progress, could lead to a society without roots, unable to distinguish good from evil.” “It is a great danger because it destroys the basis of Christian civilization: the certainty that we are created in the image of God, not products of our emotions.”
6. The Christian is called to testify with courage in front of him woke
“Christianity must be a bulwark against this relativism,” says the priest. “Our mission is to proclaim the truth of Christ without fear, showing that reality is not negotiated with feelings.”
The Catholic, he insists, must live the gospel in every aspect of his life: “We must unmask goodism woke as a falsehood. “And he concludes:” We trust that the doors of hell will not prevail. This is a spiritual battle that requires prayer, testimony and courage. ”
7. The family is the first line of defense against wokismo
“Families must be strengths of truth,” said Fr. Vásconez. To protect children, he recommends “teaching them that reality does not depend on how they feel, but what God has established.”
This, he says, implies “an education in solid faith, with catechesis that explains natural law and writing.”
“Limit the influence of culture woke in media and schools, but prepare them to face it with discernment. The example of parents is crucial, ”he concludes.
8. Evangelize with authenticity in the digital world
“In digital, we must be clear and brave,” says Fr. Vásconez. “Share the truth of the gospel without ambiguities, using stories, images and testimonies that show the beauty of faith against vacuum woke”.
He puts San Pablo as a model, who preached in a pagan and hostile world (Acts 17: 22-23). “It is worth avoiding sterile discussions, but never giving relativism,” he warns.
“Say what it is, not what the world wants to hear. Authenticity breaks goodism, and the Holy Spirit will work through our testimony.”
“Stay firm in the truth”
“Christ has made them free” (Jn 8,36), finally recalls the priest. “Do not be fooled by goodism woke that exalts feelings about reality. ”
“Seeking to be light in the dark, living with courage and love. We are not afraid to say what we think. For Christians, anchored in the Rock of the Church, the truth of God always triumphs over the passing fashions.”
Diego López Marina
I was born in 1991. I have a degree in Communication Sciences. Since 2015 I work as a digital journalist. I started my career in the newspaper El Comercio in Peru. In 2016, I began as editor in ACI Press and I perform as a web editor since 2018. From 2024, I write the Newsletter for Social Media. I specialize in Catholic news focused on the defense of life and family, international politics, technology, popular culture and the Vatican.