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6 Emory Int'L Rev. 35 (1992)
Christianity and Democracy in Europe

handle is hein.journals/emint6 and id is 47 raw text is: CHRISTIANITY AND DEMOCRACY IN EUROPE by Wolfgang Huber* The following remarks on the relationship of Christianity and democracy in Europe are divided into three parts. First, I shall dis- cuss the affinity between Christian faith and democracy. Second, I shall contrast this affinity with the delayed acceptance of modern forms of democracy by the churches in Europe. Third, I shall then consider some aspects related to the present challenges for the de- velopment of Europe's political culture. Most of my examples are chosen from the history and the present situation of Protestantism in Germany. I. THE AFFINITY OF CHRISTIAN FAITH AND DEMOCRACY The relationship of Christianity to democracy in Europe cannot be seen in a triumphalistic way. We have to face sincerely the fun- damental tension between the historical distance of churches to- wards democracy, on the one hand, and the affinity of Christian faith to democratic values, on the other. Without acknowledging this tension we would start with unrealistic assumptions. There are several reasons for this tension. I will mention only some of them, beginning with an historical reminder. In September 1991, a symposium held in Athens, the capital of Greece, celebrated the. birthday of democracy. According to the symposium organizers, democracy was born 2500 years ago, at the end of the sixth century before our era. It was when Cleisthenes allowed all citizens of Attica - even those without property - to participate in public meetings and to criticize their government in public. The reform of Cleisthenes - including equality before the law, separation of powers, a combination of direct and indirect de- mocracy, a strong control of those in power, and an impartial pun- ishment of offenses - is viewed by many as the basic model for all * Th.D., Tfibingen; Professor of Systematic Theology (Social Ethics), Ruprecht-Karls- Universitit Heidelberg; and Director of the Protestant Institute For Interdisciplinary Re- search, Heidelberg.

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