The visible and the invisible: notes on rethinking the place of the Catholic Church in the discipline of International Relations

Abstract

This article undertakes a preliminary and exploratory examination of the place of the Catholic Church within the discipline of International Relations, focusing on its treatment at both the theoretical and empirical levels. Theoretically, we identify that the dominant state-centric, materialist, and naturalist approaches have tended to relegate the Church, given its non-state character and the immaterial (spiritual) dimensions that are essential to its study. Empirically, we find that the Church occupies an intermediate position in terms of the volume of academic publications: it surpasses small states and other religions, yet remains far from the prominence enjoyed by major states and the most influential international organizations. Considering its status across both levels, we argue that the Catholic Church —despite its historical significance— continues to be relatively underestimated as an object of study in the field of International Relations.