Category: Religion

Christianity has been the bedrock of our European society for centuries, it was the glue that hold everything after the fall of the Eastern Roman empire together. Christianity also provided us with a common identity. The values we gained are still reflected in many constitutional laws of European Member states. But with the decreasing of the number of people that identify as religious, what importance can Christianity still have in modern day politics besides raising questions?

On April 9 Macron gave a speech to the French Bishops trying to appease the Catholics and addressing his view and the role that religion should play. Macron called for Catholics to get involved in politics and highlighted in this speech the various topics of the French Church’s concerns such as immigration, bioethics and religious tensions. The final verdict of his speech is that: “He wants an open Catholicism, that is to say a Catholicism that “raises questions” rather than one that sets red lines and gives lessons. “

I think this is a very noble approach, while Christianity can often portray a heavy dose of narrowism, its importance cannot be overlooked. All religions give a sense of belonging or at least an identity, which is often lacking in our progress driven society. If the individual is always centred, how can you find meaning other than in yourself?

A true virtuous society for me should be one that shares belief in objective moral goods and practices necessary for human beings to embody goods in community. The sharing is precisely what I want to differentiate here. Our current idealistic liberal approach can never bear any fruits of a real sense of belonging cause it stands polar to the community life.

Christianity perhaps could be here the guiding hand whether you are a deist or not. It’s focus on thy neighbour and in general those close around you are rather refreshing.

The big paradox then comes of how to infuse a community into the globalising political environment. Globalisation and communitarianism are often portrayed as a false dichotomy in which it is not correct that only one of the option must be chosen and that there are no alternatives.

Christianity can show to be the exemplar of the good community life. To go against issues such as abortion and same sex marriage will undoubtedly cause religion to be more popular than it already is. Rather it should shift its focus on policies that directly aid neighbourhoods by inspiring a sense of belonging therein and pointing to our past which we all share.

“It is a Church from which I do not expect lessons, but rather this wisdom of humility,” Cameron concluded, “because we can only have one common horizon and seek every day to do our best to accept the inescapable lack of tranquility that follows our actions.”