Britain, Europe and Christendom in Mid-Twentieth-Century British Christian Thought

In: Political theology, Band 6, Heft 3, S. 367-391

Abstract

The Churches were significant players in the debate surrounding what has been called Britain's "lost opportunity" in the 1940s & 50s to play a leading role in building a united Europe. This article focuses on Christian theological & historical assumptions about humanity as a universal community, the nation & the Church. It examines Christian discourse about the political dimension of these communities & the part that Christianity as a belief system should ideally play between them. It then outlines the "Christendom" narrative, which represented medieval Europe as a model for the future of Europe, as a partial realization of the ideal alignment of power & culture, which in its decay was the cause of international crisis. Finally, some of the points of tension between Christendom, British national identity, & a united Europe among Christians are discussed. 67 References. Adapted from the source document.