Soul and Body: The Effect of Dualism on Believers

The body (corpus) and the soul (anima) have long been central concerns of philosophy. This near perpetual reflection on the nature of the human person drives deeper inquiry across generations. That philosophical debate, however, is a matter for another time — here I want to address the spiritual dimension of the question.

My concern is a more pressing reality: a popular, and perhaps quietly induced, ideology known as dualism. It is not a teaching of the Church, yet it is widely practiced, whether knowingly or not. Dualism holds that body and soul are separate entities, with the body serving merely as a vessel, or even a prison, for the soul.

Few people consciously hold this belief as a philosophy, yet it shapes how many actually live. This lived dualism stands in direct contradiction to the Apostles’ Creed, which affirms the resurrection of the body, not its abandonment. We see the effects in the carelessness with which many Christians guard their purity: one prays on Sunday, then lives the rest of the week with no real regard for bodily dignity. The clearest symptom of this is bondage to sexual sin. The body loses its dignity, and with it, perhaps, our basic sense of human dignity — both the dignity we owe ourselves and the dignity we owe others. The soul is quietly elevated above the body, whether in a philosophical or a spiritual sense, and in doing so, a grave abyss opens beneath many souls.

In the end, this way of thinking is not just imprecise, it is contrary to the Church’s teaching. Body and soul belong to one person. It is not body or soul, but body and soul. Never neglect mortification, because you need it. Purity is not reserved for saints; it is asked of all of us.