An attempt for mutual relation between religion and politics in Europe Cover Image

Krótka próba refleksji na temat wzajemnych relacji religii i polityki w Europie
An attempt for mutual relation between religion and politics in Europe

Author(s): Wojciech Błaszczyk
Subject(s): Government/Political systems, Politics and religion, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment, Sociology of Politics, Sociology of Religion
Published by: Wyższe Seminarium Duchowne w Łodzi
Keywords: Europe; religion and politics;

Summary/Abstract: In the European civilization an attempt to interlink religion and politics very often was a source of conflicts. Historically, this conflict could have been resolved by the way of theocracy or political dictatorship. Today we tend to more democratic outputs. We live in a time of an idealization of democracy and quite often we forget its limits. P. Ricoeur has always underlined provisional character of politics and democracy drifting between idealism and utopia. Nevertheless, democracy in the occidental world becomes step by step a normative value to which the notion of truth has to refer in the politics as well as in the ethics. ”The problem” of democracy consists on being no more than an instrument and not the truth itself. Democracy will never play the role of a symbol or myth on which the foundations of a civilization or a culture can be built. Hervieu-Léger says even about a democratic deformation of the symbolic and religious system of European culture. A radical separation of religion and politics which is a split between the truth and the reality runs a risk of an anarchy. Facing the lack of an unquestionable value of truth and order democracy slowly takes the shape of a dictatorship. Paradoxically this absolutism of democracy preaches its rights by criticizing similar to itself: conservatism and extremism. Nowadays, politics needs a wider support from a constructive dogmatism, needs axioms, truths in a way to avoid sloping down into a totalitarian utopia. There is no question to give privileges to any religion or confession. The point is rather to break up the code of a negative interpretation of religious implications in politics. A positive symptom in this area is that the European Commission tends to set up a permanent dialogue with churches and religions.

  • Issue Year: 17/2008
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 103-107
  • Page Count: 5
  • Language: Polish