Church and Ideology: Divisions and Reductions

Abstract

The article explores the milestones in the relationship of religion and ideologies since the Enlightenment. Religion and ideology exercised deep impact on each other. Thus, for instance, the divide between “liberals” and “conservatives” in the Church nowadays emerged under the impact of secular ideologies. In particular, this divide reflects the American bipolar political system. The roots of this division go back to the history of theological thought. They can be traced in two anthropological models, pessimistic and optimistic, which diverge on the issue of human freedom. The ancient Christian doctrines can be also interpreted in terms of “conservative” and “liberal”proto-ideologies: for example, Arianism and Severianism could be regarded as conservative movements. Instead of setting the Church’s monopoly on any ideological trend, either conservative or liberal, the article suggests to reconcile them following the example of the modern political systems where coexistence and competition of the liberal and conservative ideologies do not lead to the system’s collapse, but contribute to their further dynamic development.