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Stanley Hauerwas is one of the most influential American theologians today. In fact, he was named "America’s Best Theologian" by Time magazine in 2001! As the author of over 35 books and collections of essays and a professor for several decades, Hauerwas has had a strong hand in influencing American political theology. He is most well-known for his critiques of mainstream Christianity, both the Christian right and the Christian left, and his staunch belief that the church should be an alternative to (rather than participate in) the "false politics" of the world.
Stanley Hauerwas was born in 1940 in Texas. He began his education journey at Southwestern University for his bachelor's degree, then went on to attend Yale, where he received his Masters of Divinity and a Doctor of Philosophy.
Fig. 1 - Stanley Hauerwas
After much studying, he went on to start his teaching career. His first teaching post was at the prestigious University of Notre Dame, and today, Hauerwas teaches at Duke Divinity School as the Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics.
Hauerwas was greatly influenced by his parents' work and religious life as a child. His father taught him hard work through the bricklaying trade, and the family attended Pleasant Mound Methodist Church.
As far as his religious affiliation, he has been associated with the Evangelical left. However, he has described himself as being "lumped in" with both the Christian left and Christian right since he has criticised both sides at various times.
One of Hauerwas's biggest achievements was being named "America's Best Theologian" by Time Magazine in 2001. He also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and was the first American theologian to deliver the Gifford Lectures at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
Between 1974 and 2018, he wrote over 39 books and collections of essays. He has authored numerous op-eds as well. Some of his most well-known works include:
A Community of Character: Toward A Constructive Christian Social Ethic (1981)
Selected as one of the 100 most important books on religion of the 20th century.
Against the Nations: War and Survival in a Liberal Society (1985)
Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony (Co-Written with William Willimon) (1989)
在Good Company: The Church as Polis (1995)
Spanning the decades from the 80s all the way up to the Trump presidency, he has influenced several generations of political theologians.
Hauerwas' work stands out in the theological space as a voice that critiques both sides of mainstream Christianity:Liberalismand Conservativism. By critiquing both sides, he can argue for a view of Christianity that maintains its theological integrity while affirming the strength of his Christian identity.
He has provided an important voice critiquing the church's growing involvement in American politics, encouraging Christians to be a 'sign of contradiction' to the world rather than trying to influence it.
For Hauerwas, politics and theology are closely interwoven. He views politics through the lens of Christianity and frequently challenges mainstream ideas held by Christians. Unlike many Christian political theologians, he thought there was space for both the Christian left and Christian right to find common ground. He believes that they don't disagree about the religious stance of the American experiment but rather on which theories will allow them to create a society that is as close to the Christian idea of the 'Kingdom of God' as possible.
To understand his approach to politics, we will discuss his views on Christianity anddemocracy, as well as his critiques of bothConservatismandLiberalism.
Unlike many other theologians who have argued that there is a 'spiritual oneness' between Christianity anddemocracy, Hauerwas argued that Christianity has nothing to do withdemocracy. He feels that the church should offer an alternative to the issues in modern-day politics rather than seeking to align itself with and influence it.
在A Critique of Christian America, he notes that he doesn't believe in "state-sponsored faith" because it leads to a distorted view of God. He refers to requiring prayer in schools as a "theological scandal."
Hauerwas dives into the issue of the church's involvement in politics in在Good Company: The Church as Polis(1997). He argues that the church's role should be to serve as a 'counter-polis', or an alternative to the "destructive policies" of the world and encourages Christians to try to counter the "false politics" of the world rather than trying to influence them.
Critiquing the Iraq War following 9/11, he expressed concern over Christians viewing Jesus as a "political saviour" and prayer as "political power."
在recent years, Hauerwas became a critic of Christians' widespread acceptance of President Donald Trump and criticised the church's obsession with political power. In an op-ed written for the Washington Post in 2017, he likened Trump's religious references and message of devout patriotism to idolatry. He warned that "Christians do not believe in ourselves or our country. We believe in God... We worship God. Nothing else is to be worshiped."1
他还批评教会在政治中所扮演的角色nd supporting Trump, saying that it has led to many people leaving the church. Instead of focusing on having a better message, he felt that church leaders were only concerned with finding ways to increase church membership.
While he critiqued the politically conservative Christians, he also expressed concerns aboutLiberalism. In the face of the church losing its moral standing, he wrote that:
基督徒现在尝试识别与任何组织claims it wants to make America a more just society.2
While it may be a worthy pursuit, he worried that Christian liberals tend to mistake having a worthwhile life with being on the right side of history.
When it comes to important contemporary issues like suicide and abortion, he argued that outside of the political arguments, both take away from the fact that God gave humans life. But unlike many other Christian theologians, he has also shown some acceptance of homosexuality and criticised pro-life activism, saying that Christians should focus more on advocating for better government healthcare than on opposing abortion.
Hauerwas's theology focuses on the role of the church in society and challenging common theology in mainstream Christianity. He spoke out against the calculated 'social strategy' employed by the church to influence politics on issues such as abortion.
For Hauerwas, the role of Christian theology shouldn’t be characterised by what Christian theologyshould是。相反,他认为,任何讨论的克里斯tian theology should be in the context of what it has been historically. Namely, it started out as a fringe and radical religious minority during Bible times before becoming aligned with the ruling class upon the conversion of Emperor Constantine to Christianity (what he refers to as "Constantine Christianity").
During the 1970s, the Republican Party in the United States became much more strongly associated with Christianity while the Democrat Party became more associated with secularism. Christian theologians at the time developed an ethic that pushed for Christians to become involved in politics and civil life as an expression of their faith.
在his 1981 essayReforming Christian Social Ethics: Ten Theses, Hauerwas critiques common Christian theological narratives. One of the most radical theses is number ten, which directly challenges the mainstream Christian narrative by saying that:
The church does not exist to provide an ethos fordemocracyor any other form of social organization.3
在stead, he believed the Christians should provide an alternative to politics by being an example of what is achievable for people who have been shaped by, and have shaped their lives around, the story of Christ.
Hauerwas describes himself as a Christianpacifist. If he weren't a Christian, he notes that he wouldn't be a pacifist, and if he weren't a pacifist, he wouldn't be a Christian.
Apacifist(coming from the Latin word for "paci" meaning "peace") is someone who doesn't believe that wars and violence are justified.
Fig. 2 - The Fist and Heart can symbolise Christian Pacifism
He argues that Christians can't participate in government violence and negated the 'just war' philosophy, saying it usually ends up as a justification for U.S. imperialism.
While he admitted that events like 9/11 may elicit a logical inclination toward war and retaliation, he worried that the terrorist attacks gave the political Right the license to gain power. He believed that wars, even 'just wars', are always political and criticised the war in Iraq, saying:
The presumption that a just war should be in response to aggression: well, in what way is Iraq really threatening America? ... What Iraq threatens is American imperial hegemony in the world.4
Stanley Hauerwas's theories focused on critiquing mainstream Christianity, especially the church's involvement in American politics and patriotism.
Stanley Hauerwas grew up in a Methodist church and continues to uphold some of the tenets of that denomination, but he has criticised both conservative and liberal Christianity.
Stanley Hauerwas's main contribution in political theology is offering a critique of mainstream Christianity at a time when the church's involvement in politics has increased exponentially.
Stanley was born in 1940 to a Methodist family. His degrees are in philosophy and divinity. He has been a professor for many years and has written over 35 books on political theology.
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