“And Your Father Who Sees in Secret Will Reward You” (Mt. 6:4). Civil Religion as a Temptation for Public Openness of the Church
The author offers connection between traditional theology of the Church and public theology like a relationship between the Old and the New Testaments. That means that activation of the public role of religion should not negate its private role, that is, prayer as a person’s intimate communication...
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Eastern European Instute of Theology
2019-10-01
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| Series: | Богословські роздуми: Східноєвропейський журнал богословʼя |
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| Online Access: | http://reflections.eeit-edu.info/article/view/179943 |
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| author | Sergii BORTNYK |
| author_facet | Sergii BORTNYK |
| author_sort | Sergii BORTNYK |
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The author offers connection between traditional theology of the Church and public theology like a relationship between the Old and the New Testaments. That means that activation of the public role of religion should not negate its private role, that is, prayer as a person’s intimate communication with God. Otherwise, it can turn religion into an ideology or into a so-called “civil religion”. The author quotes Cyril Hovorun, who criticizes “imperial ideology” and exposes “politicized and aggressive church structures.” The author also mentions the ideas of Wolfgang Huber, who emphasizes the importance of the “public order of the Church,” but at the same time speaks on the danger of a “malleable adaptation of the Church” to the needs of “this world.”
Another prophetic voice on the place of the Church in the society is Metropolitan John Zizioulas, who highlights a number of trends in the identity of the Church. Considering the importance of ideological, missionary, moralistic and therapeutic functions, he emphasizes that “the Church is identified in the sacraments.” The reflections of the three mentioned thinkers on the Russian, German and Greek contexts are complemented by an analysis of recent sociological data on Ukrainians’ perception of the place of religion in the public sphere. In particular, figures on support for denominational bias, “national orientation”, criteria of “trust to the Church” and the idea of a “state church” are outlined. They confirm the rejection of the position of state power by the majority of Ukrainian citizens in the time of President Poroshenko (2014-2019), who instrumentalized the sphere of religion to confront the neighboring state and actively involved religious factors into his election campaign.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-40883d27910e4d2e9253cf78bd6ef450 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2789-1569 2789-1577 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-10-01 |
| publisher | Eastern European Instute of Theology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Богословські роздуми: Східноєвропейський журнал богословʼя |
| spelling | doaj-art-40883d27910e4d2e9253cf78bd6ef4502025-08-20T02:23:48ZengEastern European Instute of TheologyБогословські роздуми: Східноєвропейський журнал богословʼя2789-15692789-15772019-10-012310.29357/2521-179X.2019.23.01“And Your Father Who Sees in Secret Will Reward You” (Mt. 6:4). Civil Religion as a Temptation for Public Openness of the ChurchSergii BORTNYK0Sergii Bortnyk, PhD (Heidelberg University, Germany), professor of the Kyiv Theological Academy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The author offers connection between traditional theology of the Church and public theology like a relationship between the Old and the New Testaments. That means that activation of the public role of religion should not negate its private role, that is, prayer as a person’s intimate communication with God. Otherwise, it can turn religion into an ideology or into a so-called “civil religion”. The author quotes Cyril Hovorun, who criticizes “imperial ideology” and exposes “politicized and aggressive church structures.” The author also mentions the ideas of Wolfgang Huber, who emphasizes the importance of the “public order of the Church,” but at the same time speaks on the danger of a “malleable adaptation of the Church” to the needs of “this world.” Another prophetic voice on the place of the Church in the society is Metropolitan John Zizioulas, who highlights a number of trends in the identity of the Church. Considering the importance of ideological, missionary, moralistic and therapeutic functions, he emphasizes that “the Church is identified in the sacraments.” The reflections of the three mentioned thinkers on the Russian, German and Greek contexts are complemented by an analysis of recent sociological data on Ukrainians’ perception of the place of religion in the public sphere. In particular, figures on support for denominational bias, “national orientation”, criteria of “trust to the Church” and the idea of a “state church” are outlined. They confirm the rejection of the position of state power by the majority of Ukrainian citizens in the time of President Poroshenko (2014-2019), who instrumentalized the sphere of religion to confront the neighboring state and actively involved religious factors into his election campaign. http://reflections.eeit-edu.info/article/view/179943Cyril HovorunWolfgang HuberJohn Zizioulaspublic theologycivil religionreligion and ideology. |
| spellingShingle | Sergii BORTNYK “And Your Father Who Sees in Secret Will Reward You” (Mt. 6:4). Civil Religion as a Temptation for Public Openness of the Church Богословські роздуми: Східноєвропейський журнал богословʼя Cyril Hovorun Wolfgang Huber John Zizioulas public theology civil religion religion and ideology. |
| title | “And Your Father Who Sees in Secret Will Reward You” (Mt. 6:4). Civil Religion as a Temptation for Public Openness of the Church |
| title_full | “And Your Father Who Sees in Secret Will Reward You” (Mt. 6:4). Civil Religion as a Temptation for Public Openness of the Church |
| title_fullStr | “And Your Father Who Sees in Secret Will Reward You” (Mt. 6:4). Civil Religion as a Temptation for Public Openness of the Church |
| title_full_unstemmed | “And Your Father Who Sees in Secret Will Reward You” (Mt. 6:4). Civil Religion as a Temptation for Public Openness of the Church |
| title_short | “And Your Father Who Sees in Secret Will Reward You” (Mt. 6:4). Civil Religion as a Temptation for Public Openness of the Church |
| title_sort | and your father who sees in secret will reward you mt 6 4 civil religion as a temptation for public openness of the church |
| topic | Cyril Hovorun Wolfgang Huber John Zizioulas public theology civil religion religion and ideology. |
| url | http://reflections.eeit-edu.info/article/view/179943 |
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