Question:
Answer:
A social construct is “an idea that has been created and accepted by the people in a society.”
To the extent a social construct is in accord with the natural law and other truth, it can be affirmed by the Catholic Church. For example, ordering a society around authentic marriage and family for the societal benefits it fosters—including the bearing and raising of children—is something the Church certainly affirms. In contrast, redefining marriage to accommodate homosexual and other non-marital relationships undermines marriage and family and thus society.
In this regard, we see social constructionism can tend towards moral relativism, because truth can be redefined by a majority of the citizenry and/or those in power. Consequently, social constructs became dangerous to the Church and society, because they threaten the Church’s role as the instrument of salvation founded by God, including the Church’s authority to authentically teach and interpret the natural moral law (CCC 2035-36).
Because the natural law is grounded in reason, one need not make a distinctively religious argument in opposing social constructs, and so the Church has made, for example, reason-based arguments that are both religious and non-religious regarding the redefinition of marriage.
For more on the issue of moral relativism, see this articles: “How to Refute Moral Relativism”; “C.S. Lewis and the Argument from Morality to God”; and “Want Catholic Children? Teach Them the Natural Law!”