Petőcz Kálmán (szerk.): National Populism and Slovak - Hungarian Relations in Slovakia 2006-2009 (Somorja, 2009)
Miroslav Kocúr: For God and Nation: Christian National Populism
For God and Nation: Christian National Populism legitimizing the transformation of tradesmen into bourgeoisie. Individual morale and economic liberalism was given space in a society where pluralism was ceasing to be a criminal act. Unified interpretation of life reality ceased to be the prerogative of the single true theological mainstream. Martin Luther was the first influential heretic who was not burnt at the stake; however, his argument that Christians should take interest in public affairs and demand that their congregations be governed by people who not only speak of morality but act accordingly later proved to have brisance not even the reformist himself was probably able to estimate. The right to oppose the Roman clerical monarch in a theological polemic led to founding the Augsburg confession (Confesio Augustana), which adumbrated further diversification of European Christianity that had previously appeared and acted as a homogeneous monolith. It was not until the 2“d Vatican Council that the Roman Catholic Church officially subscribed to cooperation with other Christian societies; however, an important feature of this reconciliation attempt is the continuous denial of other Christian confessions’ right to refer to themselves as churches, which was last defined by Josef Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) as the Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Ratzinger’s sophisticated explanations are difficult to comprehend but he basically argued that only the Roman Catholic Church is a church in the true sense of this word.25 ReIíqíon ancI Politics This brings us to the interface between religion and politics. The issue to which degree is religion connected to practical politics has been debated for several centuries. The Christian elite justified its place in the world of politics through Bible stories and their interpretations; however, the literary version of the Old Testament scriptures played a rather marginal role in the interpretation process. Until the late 19th century, no one particularly closely examined whether and to what extent is the biblical text a metaphor, a propagandistic exhortative text or a historical account. The Maccabean wars described in parts of the Old Testament (also called secondarily canonical) provide perhaps the most ancient answer to the question of why political ambitions are inherently included in the monotheistic tradition. The pagan king forced religious brothers to do something their beliefs and convictions did not allow, which led to a rebellion. The Hanukkah holiday Judaism continues to celebrate until the present day has to do with this gesture of resistance and martyrdom of the Maccabeans. 233
