How did the Second Vatican Council affect the influence of Thomism?

The Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) significantly altered the status of Thomism within the Roman Catholic Church. Prior to the council, neo-Thomism held a position of dominance, often functioning as a rigid, exclusive standard for Catholic intellectual life.12

The council’s promotion of pastoral renewal and openness toward non-Western cultures effectively ended the monopoly held by neo-Thomists and reduced the immediate influence of their specific theological approach. This shift allowed for a move away from the dismissive attitude some thinkers had previously held toward non-Thomist theologies.1

Although the immediate aftermath of Vatican II appeared detrimental to Thomism, the council ultimately provided theologians with new opportunities to engage with the core principles of St. Thomas Aquinas’s work. Rather than focusing solely on the rigid frameworks of neo-Scholasticism, post-conciliar thinkers applied Aquinas’s insights to a broader range of contemporary issues, including medical ethics, human rights, and the mission of the Holy Spirit. By the 1970s and 1980s, this led to a renewed, more historically grounded scholarly interest in Aquinas that continues to influence 20th- and 21st-century thought.1