Christian Realism

Christian Realism is a branch of philosophy developed by Reinhold Niebuhr in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Niebuhr argued that the kingdom of heaven can not be realized on Earth because of the innately corrupt tendencies of society. Due to the injustices that arise on Earth, a person is therefore forced to compromise the ideal of the kingdom of heaven on Earth.

Niebuhr argued that human perfectibility was an illusion. He highlighted the sinfulness of humanity at a time when the world was confronted by the experience of Hitler, Stalin and the Holocaust.

Political connections

Christian Realism exerted a strong influence on US foreign and domestic policy in the Cold War era. Many members of the neoconservative movement have claimed to inherit Niebuhr's philosophy, however others argue that Neoconservatism neglects Niebuhr's commitment to social justice.^[1]

Perspectives on Christian Realism

"Christian realism inspired no hymns and built no lasting institutions. It was not even a movement, but rather, a reaction to the Social Gospel centered on one person, Reinhold Niebuhr. The Social Gospel, by contrast, was a half-century movement and an enduring perspective that paved the way for modern ecumenism, social Christianity, the Civil Rights Movement, and the field of social ethics."^[2]

"(Niebuhr's) emphasis on sin startled my generation, brought up on optimistic convictions of human innocence and perfectibility. But nothing had prepared us for Hitler and Stalin, the Holocaust, concentration camps and gulags. Human nature was evidently as capable of depravity as of virtue... Traditionally, the idea of the frailty of man led to the demand for obedience to ordained authority. But Niebuhr rejected that ancient conservative argument. Ordained authority, he showed, is all the more subject to the temptations of self-interest, self-deception and self-righteousness. Power must be balanced by power."^[3]

"Q. What insights of Niebuhr’s are most pertinent for the nation’s public life today?
A. His sense that elements of self-interest and pride lurk even in the best of human actions. His recognition that a special synergy of selfishness operates in collectivities like nations. His critique of Americans’ belief in their country’s innocence and exceptionalism — the idea that we are a redeemer nation going abroad never to conquer, only to liberate."^[4]

21st Century

In the post-9/11 era, a number of scholars have been questioning the secular underpinnings of political Realism, especially in the face of post-modern critique.^[5] Charles Jones of the University of Cambridge has suggested that International Law and normative theory presuppose Christian ethics despite the edifice of secularism that pervades International Relations Theory. Despite the Christian Realist underpinnings of scholars originally associated with the English School, the revival of an interest in the place of religion in International Relations is relatively recent.^[6]

See also

• Political realism

References

^{[7] [8] [9] [10]}

1. ^ , Steinfels, P (2007, 26 May) Two Social Ethicists and the National Landscape, New York Times, interview with Gary Dorrien, retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/26/us/26beliefs.html?_r=1
2. ^ Dorrien G (2009) Society as the Subject of Redemption: The Relevance of the Social Gospel, retrieved from http://www.tikkun.org/article.php/nov_dec_09_dorrien
3. ^ Schlesinger, A (1992, June 22) Reinhold Niebuhr's Long Shadow, New York Times, retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/22/opinion/reinhold-niebuhr-s-long-shadow.html
4. ^ , Steinfels, P (2007, 26 May) Two Social Ethicists and the National Landscape, New York Times, interview with Gary Dorrien, retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/26/us/26beliefs.html?_r=1
5. ^ [1]
6. ^ [2]
7. ^ Lovin, Robin W. Reinhold Niebuhr and Christian Realism. New York City: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print.
8. ^ Niebuhr, Reinhold. Christian Realism and Political Problems. New York City: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1953. Print.
9. ^ http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/HTALLANT/courses/his338/students/smanning/RN5.htm
10. ^ http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1493352##