Fides Et Ratio On the Relationship Between Faith and Reason: Encyclical Letter of John Paul II

This encyclical, promulgated by Pope John Paul II on September 14, 1998, deals primarily with the relationship between faith and reason. Faith needs reason, for without reason, it leads to superstition. Reason without faith leads to nihilism and relativism. The key to the document is the appeal that faith and philosophy recover that profound unity which allows them to stand in harmony without compromising their mutual autonomy.