There Is No Revolution without Reformation. Hegel’s Understanding of the Relationship between State and Religion Cover Image

Nema revolucije bez reformacije. Hegelovo poimanje odnosa države i religije
There Is No Revolution without Reformation. Hegel’s Understanding of the Relationship between State and Religion

Author(s): Stanko Vlaški
Subject(s): Political Philosophy, 19th Century Philosophy, German Idealism, Philosophy of Law
Published by: Hrvatsko Filozofsko Društvo
Keywords: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel; religion; state; Protestant Reformation;freedom;

Summary/Abstract: Hegel’s words from the Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences, that a revolution is not possible without a reformation, can be understood as the general warning that the change within the inner world of beliefs of individual and community must precede every radical political change. Historically more precise, these words point to the Reformed Christianity as the inherent impetus to the modern revolutionary movements. The religious liberation of conscience preceded the political liberation, and Hegel, therefore, points out Protestantism as the highest form of religiosity which is possible in the modern ethical life. On the other hand, Hegel favours Protestantism not only because he is convinced that the religious reformation preceded and must precede the revolution, but also because he considers that with Protestantism becomes evident that the reformation of religion remains incomplete and abstract if it does not grow into the political upheaval. Considering the way Hegel is problematizing the nature of the relationship between state and religion, the author concludes: there can be no revolution without a reformation, but neither a true reformation without a revolution.

  • Issue Year: 38/2018
  • Issue No: 04/152
  • Page Range: 761-776
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Croatian