Leo Tolstoy’s anticlericalism in its context and beyond: a case against churches and clerics, religious and secular

In the last thirty years of his life, Leo Tolstoy wrote numerous books, essays and pamphlets expounding his newly-articulated views on violence, the state, the church, and on how to improve the human condition. Since then, these “Christian anarchist” views have often been dismissed as utopian or naive, and, despite inspiring many activists and intellectuals, often forgotten or ignored. Some of those views and arguments, however, arguably remain apposite today—and can in some cases be applied to broader phenomena than those he identified. This article focuses on one of the aspects of his Christian anarchist thought: his anticlericalism. The first Section recounts the evolution of Tolstoy’s views on religion and the church, and briefly describes Tolstoy’s peculiar metaphysics. The second outlines his main charges against the church, discusses some common objections to it, and considers the continuing relevance of his anticlericalism. The third seeks to secularise his anticlerical arguments by applying them beyond the church, against secular preachers and institutions, and does so by reflecting on the quality of debate in the contemporary public sphere, on the hypocritical distance between the morality preached by secular “clerics” and their practice, and on the steady process of ossification and betrayal which befalls secular political ideals. The article thus contributes to the literature firstly by summarising, discussing and reflecting upon the anticlericalism of a famous writer who also espoused controversial religious and political views; secondly by succinctly outlining his idiosyncratic metaphysics, including his peculiar reinterpretation of traditional Christian referents; and thirdly by applying the arguments that informed his criticisms of the church to a broader variety of religious and secular secular institutions

Turning the other cheek to terrorism: reflections on the contemporary significance of Leo Tolstoy's ‘Exegesis of the sermon on the Mount'

The “war on terror” has brought to the fore the old debate on the role of religion in politics and international relations, a question on which Tolstoy wrote extensively during the latter part of his life. He considered Jesus to have clearly spelt out some rational moral and political rules for conduct, the most important of which was non-resistance to evil. For Tolstoy, Jesus’ instructions not to resist evil, to love one’s enemies and not to judge one another together imply that a sincere Christian would denounce any form of violence and warfare, and would strive to respond to (whatever gets defined as) evil with love, not force. In today’s “war on terror,” therefore, Tolstoy would lament both sides’ readiness to use violence to reach their aims; and he would call for Christians in particular to courageously enact the rational wisdom contained in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Tolstoy’s exegesis of Christianity may be too literal and too rationalistic, and may lead to an exceedingly utopian political vision; but it articulates a refreshingly peaceful method for religion to shape politics, one that can moreover and paradoxically be related to by non-Christians precisely because of its alleged grounding in reason

A Christian anarchist critique of violence: From turning the other cheek to a rejection of the state

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is seen by many Christians as a moving summary of his message to the community of Christian disciples. For Christian anarchist thinkers like Tolstoy, Ellul, Elliott, and Andrews among others, it also contains Jesus’ most poignant statement on violence – his call to turn the other cheek – a statement which, they argue, cannot but ultimately imply a condemnation of the state for its theoretical and practical monopoly over the allegedly legitimate use of violence. This paper offers an overview of this radical political exegesis, thus showing why, for Christian anarchists, the very core of Christianity cannot but imply a form of (non-violent) anarchism

‘Bethink yourselves or you will perish’: Leo Tolstoy’s voice a centenary after his death

When Leo Tolstoy died in November 1910, he was just as famous for his radical political and religious writings as he was for his fictional literature. Yet during the hundred years that have passed since, his Christian anarchist voice has been drowned by the sort of historical forces he had always been so eager to make sense of. Today, only few of even those acquainted with his literature know much about his unusual and radical religious and political writings (other perhaps than that they were unusual, radical, religious and political). What he has to say to Christians, to anarchists and indeed to the wider public, however, is just as urgent today as it was at the time of writing. In this testimonial to mark the centenary of his death, therefore, I wish to first provide a brief story of what happened to Tolstoy’s voice, and then to hint at the importance of the sort of contributions he can make to a number of vital challenges facing us today

Responding to the state: Christian anarchists on Romans 13, rendering to Caesar, and civil disobedience

Responding to the state: Christian anarchists on Romans 13, rendering to Caesar, and civil disobedienc

Une critique anarchiste chretienne de la violence: tendre l'autre joue comme un rejet de l'etat

De nombreux chrétiens considèrent le Sermon sur la Montagne comme un résumé éloquent du message de Jésus à ses disciples. Pour les penseurs anarchistes chrétiens tels que Léon Tolstoï, Jacques Ellul, Michael Elliott et Dave Andrews, il contient également la plus poignante des déclarations de Jésus sur la violence – son appel à ne pas résister au mal mais à tendre l'autre joue – une déclaration qui, affirment-ils, ne peut qu’impliquer une condamnation de l’Etat pour son monopole théorique et pratique de l’utilisation prétendument légitime de la violence. Le présent chapitre offre un aperçu de cette exégèse politique radicale, soulignant l'importance politique de ce passage en montrant que Jésus attend de ses disciples une réaction non pas passive mais résolue ; expliquant pourquoi pour les anarchistes chrétiens, Jésus appelle ses disciples à aller au-delà de la loi du talion ; esquissant un ensemble de réflexions anarchistes chrétiennes sur le cycle de la violence et la méthode radicale de Jésus pour le surmonter ; et démontrant pourquoi cette analyse pousse logiquement les anarchistes chrétiens à rejeter l'État moderne. En bref, ce chapitre montre pourquoi, pour les anarchistes chrétiens, le cœur même de la morale chrétienne ne peut qu’impliquer une forme (non-violente) d’anarchisme. Ce chapitre présente donc un axe principal de l’approche contestataire inspirée de la religion qu’est la pensée anarchiste chrétienne

Love, justice and social eschatology

In this paper, we explore the ontological and theological ground of political institutions in order to then reflect upon the eschatological calling of society. The paper builds on Tillich's ontological insight that love does not simply transcend justice, but that it permeates and drives justice, that justice gives form to love's reunion of the separated. This relation between love and justice is at play in political institutions: these unite human beings under forms of justice that must be transformed ever anew if they are not to lose touch with the dynamic power of love and freeze into increasingly unjust juridicalism. The modern history of Western civilisation bears witness to this ontological tension, and the phenomenon of globalisation is yet another instance of human society's mystical calling. Thus, love heads the dynamic movement that transforms political institutions ever anew. Yet society as a whole must become conscious of its ontology for humanity to truly reach its eschatological potential, and this will require both that theology recovers its ground and that political theory thinks theologically

Anarchism and religion: Exploring definitions

Anarchism and religion: Exploring definition

Anarchism and religion: Mapping an increasingly fruitful landscape

Anarchism and religion: Mapping an increasingly fruitful landscap

Anarchism and religion

Anarchism and religio