| Many people who read Karl Barth's theology think his ideas are politically dangerous to a democracy, such as the U.S. This is mostly because of Barth's critique of the liberal metaphysical assumptions that underlie democracy and his rejection of them as starting points for Christian theological reflection. However, Barth insists “Christian choices and purposes in politics tend on the whole towards the form of the State, which, if not actually realised in the so-called ‘democracies,’ is at any rate more or less honestly clearly intended and desired” there.; I try to understand why Barth says this, and what the ramifications are of his view as it touches on the role of Christian theology in a democracy. Most political interpretations of Barth proceed historically. But biographical analyses make it almost impossible for those who do not share Barth's world to appropriate his views. This is the case for Christians who live in democracies: we know little of the kind of political situations Barth confronted, to which his theology is a reply. I suggest the connection between Barth's theology and his political views, especially as these relate to the interests and needs of Christians living in a democracy, is illuminated when he is read pragmatically.; Barth's political views are the fruit of his account of the incarnation of the Word of God in the person of Jesus Christ. Christology determines that Barth has political views, and the kind of political views he has, which he recommends to Christians. An examination of the social arrangements Barth says Christian faith expects and those characteristic of a democracy indicates the politics of the church and the liberal state converge in key places. Both the church and a democracy have strikingly similar views about the moral equality of all persons, and they are each committed to cashing this egalitarianism out practically. The church and a democracy have different reasons for their views. But should not prevent us from seeing that, for Barth, Christians have a great deal in common with political liberals and an obligation to encourage them theologically in their democratic endeavors. |
