Political theology

Political theology is a part of both political philosophy and theology that investigates the ways in which theological concepts or ways of thinking relate to politics, society, and economics. Though the relationship between Christianity and politics has been debated since the time of Jesus, political theology as an academic discipline began during the latter part of the 20th century, partially as a response to the work of both Carl Schmitt and the Frankfurt School. The journal Political Theology currently examines this interface of religious faith and politics.

Overview

Writing amidst the turbulence of the German Weimar Republic, Carl Schmitt argued in Political Theology that the main concepts of modern politics were secularized versions of older theological concepts. Mikhail Bakunin had used the term in his 1871 text "The Political Theology of Mazzini and the International" to which Schmitt's book was a response. Drawing on Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan he argued that the state exists to maintain its own integrity in order to ensure order in society in times of crisis.