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Religious Freedom and the Ethos of Democracy in Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde - Discussed: Religion, Law, and Democracy: Selected Writings. By Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde. Edited by Mirjam Künkler and Tine Stein. Translated by Thomas Dunlap. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020. Pp. 480. $65.00 (cloth); Oxford Scholarship Online by subscription (digital). ISBN: 9780198818632. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198818632.001.0001.
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Discussed: Religion, Law, and Democracy: Selected Writings. By Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde. Edited by Mirjam Künkler and Tine Stein. Translated by Thomas Dunlap. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020. Pp. 480. $65.00 (cloth); Oxford Scholarship Online by subscription (digital). ISBN: 9780198818632. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198818632.001.0001.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 October 2022
Abstract
According to Böckenförde’s interpretation in his famous essay “The Rise of the State as a Process of Secularization” (1967), in the formation of modern statehood religious freedom and, more generally, freedom of conscience played a central role. It was “for love of such freedom” that the modern state set inviolable limits on the exercise of its own coercive force vis-à-vis citizens relying on its protection. Nobody may be forced through the coercive tools of political power to hold true something that they do not believe. This dynamic of freedom is further taken up in Böckenförde’s analysis of church history and theological traditions, as this essay demonstrates. The conception of religious freedom as a right of the human person, contained in the Second Vatican Council declaration Dignitatis Humanae, is a real “Copernican turn.” It represents a true revolution in Catholic interpretation of democracy, public ethos, and natural law, which aims at reconciling modern freedom, democracy, and religion through a revised doctrine of the common good.
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- Book Review Symposium: Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, Religion, Law, and Democracy
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- © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University
References
1 Böckenförde, Ernst-Wolfgang, “The Rise of the State as a Process of Secularization [1967],” in Religion, Law and Democracy: Selected Writings, ed. Künkler, Mirjam and Stein, Tine, trans. Dunlap, Thomas (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020), 152–67CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Originally published as Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, “Die Entstehung des Staates als Vorgang der Säkularisation” [The emergence of the state as a process of secularization], in Säkularisation und Utopie. Ebracher Studien. Ernst Forsthoff zum 65. Geburtstag [Secularization and utopia. Ebracher studies for Ernst Forsthoff on his sixty-fifth birthday] (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1967), 75–94.
2 See Michele Nicoletti, “For Love of Freedom”: On the Dialectics between Religion and Politics,” in Religion and the Political, ed. Montserrat Herrero (Hildesheim: Olms, 2012), 45–59; Michele Nicoletti, “Aus Liebe zur Freiheit”: über die italienische Rezeption des Werkes von Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde” [“For Love of freedom”: The Italian reception of Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde’s work] in Die Rezeption der Werke Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenfördes in international vergleichender Perspektive [The reception of Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde’s works from an international comparative perspective], ed. Mirjam Künkler and Tine Stein (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 2020), 57–68.
3 The analogy between the incarnation process of God and the self-limitation of the modern state can be found in Georg Jellinek’s Allgemeine Staatslehre [General theory of the state] (Berlin: Häring, 1914), 480. See Kelsen, Hans,Der soziologische und der juristische Staatsbegriff [The sociological and legal concept of the state] (Tübingen: Mohr, 1928), 227 Google Scholar.
4 Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, Recht, Staat, Freiheit. Studien zur Rechtsphilosophie, Staatstheorie und Verfassungsgeschichte [Law, state, freedom: Essays on philosophy of law, theory of the state, and constitutional history] (Frankfurt: Suhrkamp, 1991); Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, Staat, Nation, Europa: Studien zur Staatslehre, Verfassungstheorie und Rechtsphilosophie [State, nation, Europe: Essays on theory of the state, constitutional theory, and philosophy of law] (Frankfurt: Suhrkamp, 1999). Many of the essays from these two collections are published in English translation in Böckenförde, Ernst-Wolfgang, Constitutional and Political Theory: Selected Writings, ed. Künkler, Mirjam and Stein, Tine, trans. Dunlap, Thomas (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
5 See Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, Schriften zu Staat, Gesellschaft, Kirche [Writings on state, society, church], 3 vols. (Freiburg: Herder 1988–1990); Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, Kirche und christlicher Glaube in den Herausforderungen der Zeit. Beiträge zur politisch-theologischen Verfassungsgeschichte 1957–2002 [Church and Christian faith in the challenges of the time: Contributions to political-theological constitutional history, 1957–2002] (Berlin: LIT 2007). Many of the essays from these collections are published in English translation in Künkler and Stein, Religion, Law, and Democracy.
6 Paul VI, Dignitatis Humanae [Declaration on religious freedom] (December 2, 1965), https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651207_dignitatis-humanae_en.html.
7 See Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, “Religious Freedom between the Conflicting Demands of Church and State [1964–79],” in Künkler and Stein, Religion, Law and Democracy, 115–36; Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, Religionsfreiheit als Aufgabe der Christen. Gedanken eines Juristen zu den Diskussionen auf dem Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzil [Freedom of religion as a task for Christians: A jurist’s thoughts on the discussions at the Second Vatican Council], Stimmen der Zeit 90, no. 176 (1965): 199–213; Böckenförde, Ernst-Wolfgang, “Einleitung zur Textausgabe der Erklärung über die Religionsfreiheit” [Introduction to the text edition of the “Declaration on Religious Freedom”], in Erklärung über die Religionsfreiheit (lateinisch-deutsch) [Declaration on religious freedom (Latin-German)] (Münster: Westfalen, 1968), 5–21 Google Scholar.
8 See Isensee, Johannes, “Die katholische Kritik an den Menschenrechte” [The Catholic criticism of human rights], in Menschenrechte und Menschenwürde [Human rights and human dignity], ed. Böckenförde, Ernst-Wolfgang and Spaemann, Robert (Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1987), 138–74Google Scholar.
9 As stated in Paul VI, Dignitatis Humanae, section 2:
This Vatican Council declares that the human person has a right to religious freedom. This freedom means that all men are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any human power, in such wise that no one is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others, within due limits. The council further declares that the right to religious freedom has its foundation in the very dignity of the human person as this dignity is known through the revealed word of God and by reason itself. This right of the human person to religious freedom is to be recognized in the constitutional law whereby society is governed and thus it is to become a civil right. It is in accordance with their dignity as persons—that is, beings endowed with reason and free will and therefore privileged to bear personal responsibility—that all men should be at once impelled by nature and also bound by a moral obligation to seek the truth, especially religious truth. They are also bound to adhere to the truth, once it is known, and to order their whole lives in accord with the demands of truth. However, men cannot discharge these obligations in a manner in keeping with their own nature unless they enjoy immunity from external coercion as well as psychological freedom. Therefore the right to religious freedom has its foundation not in the subjective disposition of the person, but in his very nature. In consequence, the right to this immunity continues to exist even in those who do not live up to their obligation of seeking the truth and adhering to it and the exercise of this right is not to be impeded, provided that just public order be observed.
10 Böckenförde, Ernst-Wolfgang, “Wahrheit und Freiheit. Zur Weltverantwortung der Kirche heute” [Truth and freedom. On the church responsibility for the world today], Zur Debatte 36, no. 6 (2004): 5–6 Google Scholar, at 5. This essay also appears in Böckenförde, Kirche und christlicher Glaube in den Herausforderungen der Zeit, 457–66.
11 John Paul II, Homily delivered in Havana, Cuba, January 25, 1998, section 4, https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/1998/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_19980125_lahabana.html.
12 See Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, Preface to section 2 of Kirche und christlicher Glaube in den Herausforderungen der Zeit, 194–95.
13 See Böckenförde, “Remarks on the Relationship between State and Religion in Hegel [1982],” in Künkler and Stein, Religion, Law and Democracy, 199–219.
14 Leo XIII, Libertas [Encyclical on the nature of human liberty] (June 20, 1888), section 42, https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_20061888_libertas.html. The text in Latin is as follows: “itaque ex dictis consequitur, nequaquam licere petere, defendere, largiri cogitandi, scribendi, docendi, itemque promiscuam religonum libertatem, veluti iura totidem, quae homini natura dederit.”
15 Paul VI, Dignitatis Humanae, section 2.
16 Böckenförde, “Religious Freedom between the Conflicting Demands of Church and State,” 130.
17 See Messner, Johannes, Das Naturrecht. Handbuch der Gesellschaftsethik, Staatsethik und Wirtschaftsethik [The natural law. Handbook of social ethics, state ethics and business ethics] (Innsbruck: Tyrolia, 1950)Google Scholar.
18 Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, “On the Authority of Papal Encyclicals: The Example of Pronouncements on Religious Freedom [2006],” in Künkler and Stein, Religion, Law and Democracy, 288–306.
19 Böckenförde, Ernst-Wolfgang, “Autorität-Gewissen-Normfindung. Thesen zur weiteren Diskussion” [Authority, conscience, norm-finding. Theses for further discussion], in In Christus zum Leben befreit. Für Bernhard Häring [Freed to life in Christ. For Bernhard Häring], ed. Römelt, Josef and Hidber, Bruno (Freiburg: Herder, 1992)Google Scholar, 131–38.
20 Böckenförde, “Autorität-Gewissen-Normfindung,” 133.
21 Böckenförde, “Autorität-Gewissen-Normfindung,” 133, quoting Robert Alexy, Theorie der Grundrechte [Theory of fundamental rights] (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 1985)Google Scholar.
22 Böckenförde, “Autorität-Gewissen-Normfindung,” 137.
23 Böckenförde, Wahrheit und Freiheit, 6.
24 Böckenförde, 6.
25 See Böckenförde, “On the Authority of Papal Encyclicals,” 298–306.
26 Codex Iuris Canonici [Code of Canon Law] (1983) c.752, https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib3-cann747-755_en.html#BOOK_III.
27 Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, “The Ethos of Modern Democracy and the Church [1957],” in Künkler and Stein Religion, Law and Democracy, 61–76.
28 See the following two essays: Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, “Demokratie und Repräsentation. Zur Kritik der heutigen Demokratiediskussion (1983)” [Democracy and representation. On the criticism of today’s democracy discussion] and “Demokratie als Verfassungsprinzip (1987)” [Democracy as a constitutional principle], in Staat, Verfassung, Demokratie [State, constitution, democracy] (Frankfurt: Suhrkamp 1992), 379–405, 289–378.
29 Böckenförde, “The Ethos of Modern Democracy and the Church,” 68.
30 Böckenförde, Ernst-Wolfgang, “Kirchliches Naturrecht und politische Handlung” [Ecclesiastical natural law and political action], in Naturrecht in der Kritik [Criticism of natural law], ed. Böckle, Franz and Böckenförde, Ernst-Wolfgang (Mainz: Grünewald, 1973), 96–125 Google Scholar; Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, “Reflections on a Theology of the Modern Secular Law [1999],” in Künkler and Stein, Religion, Law and Democracy, 259–79; Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, “Ethische und politische Grundsatzfragen zur Zeit. Überlegungen aus Anlaß von 90 Jahre “‘Rerum Novarum’” [Ethical and political fundamental questions of our time. Reflections on the occasion of ninety years of “Rerum Novarum”], Herder Korrespondenz, July 1981, 342–48; Böckenförde, Ernst-Wolfgang, “Der Beitrag politischen Handelns zur Verwirklichung von Gerechtigkeit” [The contribution of political action to the realization of justice], in Gerechtigkeit in Gesellschaft, Wirtschaft und Politik [Justice in society, economy and politics], ed. Ernst, Wilhelm (Freiburg: Universität-Verlag 1992), 149–72Google Scholar.
31 See the essays in Böckle and Böckenförde, Naturrecht in der Kritik.
32 Böckenförde, “Reflections on a Theology of the Modern Secular Law,” 265.
33 See Maritain, Jacques, “The Rights of Man,” in Man and the State (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951), 76–107 Google Scholar.