Religious Life as a State of Perfection

Abstract

Religious life is referred to in the Catholic theological tradition as a state of perfection. 3e claim may seem relatively uncontroversial, and yet it is not immediately evident that the religious state is “perfect” and therefore “objectively higher” than other states of life. Certainly, in the years since the Second Vatican Council, greater emphasis has been placed on the complementary doctrine of the “universal call to holiness.” Lumen Gentium stresses that grace su6cient for sanctity is made available to all the Christian faithful