Exploring Catholic Social Teaching

LESSON PLAN
F. Project and have a student stand and read aloud Romans 13:1:
“Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except
from God, and those that exist have been established by God.”
G. Call on a student to explain the significance of this verse, specifically the truth that all authority
comes from God.
H. Challenge your students by asking: does this mean that everyone in power has God’s approval,
i.e. that all governments are just?
I. To investigate this question, brainstorm and write out a list of government officials from
world history, both good and bad. For example: King Herod, Pontius Pilate, Emperors Nero and
Constantine, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Harry Truman, Mohandas
Gandhi, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedung, Winston Churchill, Adolph Hitler. Transition to recent times:
George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Bashar al-Asaad, Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, Kim Jong-Un,
and so forth.
J. Choose a few examples to focus on specifically, e.g. Herod who ordered the slaughter of the
innocents; Stalin, Hitler, or Mao who killed millions; or Truman who dropped atomic bombs on
Japan. Ask students if everyone on the list in fact derived his authority from God. What is the
real meaning of authority? Have students work in pairs to attempt to answer these questions.
K. Circulate among groups as they work, helping students understand that authority is the quality
of exercising power over others and expecting obedience from them. So while everyone on the
list indeed derived authority from God, many abused their authority by acting in immoral and
unjust ways. The fact that authority comes from God does not mean that all public officials will
behave justly. All human beings tend to sin, and political philosophers have long observed that
increased power tends to increasingly corrupt those who hold it.
L. Conclude as a large group with a mini-lecture:
All communities need someone or some institution in authority. That required governing authority
comes from God. For example, parents have authority over their children; governments exercise
authority over citizens. That does not mean that God automatically approves of everything done
by people in authority. Government authority is legitimate only if it works for the common good
in moral ways. For example, parents do not have the authority to kill or abuse their children, or
to force them to do immoral things. Corrupt and immoral governments do not have legitimate
authority. Power exercised without authority is tyranny.
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