CSDC 559

Christians must work so that the full value of the religious dimension of culture is seen. This is a very important and urgent task for the quality of human life, at both the individual and social levels. The question arising from the mystery of life and referring to the greater mystery of God is in fact at the centre of every culture; when it is eliminated, culture and the moral life of nations are corrupted¹¹⁷¹ Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 24: AAS 83AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 83 (1991) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1991), 821-822.. The authentic religious dimension is an essential part of man and allows him to open his diverse activities to the horizon in which they find meaning and direction. Human religiosity or spirituality is manifested in the forms taken on by a culture, to which it gives vitality and inspiration. The countless works of art of every period bear witness to this. When the religious dimension of the person or of a people is denied, culture itself starts to die off, sometimes disappearing completely.