Theology and Contemporary Worldviews

Table of Contents

Introduction3

Thesis Statement3

Discussion on Theology and Religion4

Civil Rights Movement6

Political Dimension of Religious Activism7

Liberation Theology10

Religious Activism in 21st Century11

Situatuations and Commitments: A Theological Perspective14

Authority and Theology16

Conclusion19

Theology and Contemporary Worldviews

Introduction

In the United States, the principle of separation of church and state seems to call into question the relation of faith and politics and thus the legitimacy of religious activism. Even the faith-based initiatives that have been promoted by the administration of President George W. Bush claim to follow the separation of church and state; religious institutions providing charity and social services to the needy are not supposed to proselytize, and the government does not explicitly seek to influence religion. There are good historical reasons for the separation of church and state; the confusion of church and state in Europe frequently led to persecutions and religious wars.

Thesis Statement

The 20th century can be considered a breeding ground for religious activism. Nevertheless, it does not follow from an affirmation of the separation of the institutions of church and state that theology, religion and politics can be separated.

Discussion on Theology and Religion

This insight has often been covered up by the assumption, commonly found in modern North Atlantic and Western societies, that religion is separate from other spheres of life. In this perspective, religion appears to be mostly about private matters, including morals and values. There may be disagreements about whether religion is more about doctrinal faith claims or about spiritual experiences, but religion is seen as separate from public matters such as politics or economics. Nevertheless, religion, if it is an expression of human life, can never be separated completely from political structures; likewise, politics, also an expression of human life, is never completely unrelated to religious forms. Since life cannot be neatly categorized, no one can live exclusively in either religious or political realms.

In addition, many cultures and most premodern historical societies do not share this understanding of the separation of religion and politics. The struggles of Jesus of Nazareth or of the Apostle Paul, for instance, cannot be limited to matters of religion alone; no concept of the separation of religion and politics existed in those days. Neither can the work of other historical religious figures, such as the Prophet Mohammed, Gautama Buddha, Saint Francis, or Bartolomé de Las Casas, be understood in terms of a separation of religion and politics. Religious activism has deep roots in these ancient and non-Western traditions and poses substantial challenges to both contemporary religion and politics.

Resisting the mostly successful efforts of Nazi Germany to assimilate the churches, Christians related to the so-called Confessing Church actively opposed Nazi ideology and politics. Theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, executed in a concentration camp in 1945, was deeply involved in the resistance. Bonhoeffer's motivations were rooted in his Christian commitments; the extensive body of his writings continues to provide inspiration to religious activism. According to Bonhoeffer, we only find God if we go where God has already preceded us, to the underside of history, to those who struggle against ...