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Christian Bioethics 2008 14(1):1-28; doi:10.1093/cb/cbn002
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of The Journal of Christian Bioethics, Inc. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Is Europe, Along with its Bioethics, Still Christian? Or Already Post-Christian? Reflections on Traditional and Post-Enlightenment Christianities and Their Bioethics

Corinna Delkeskamp-Hayes

International Studies in Philosophy and Medicine, Freigericht, Germany

Address correspondence to: Corinna Delkeskamp-Hayes, European Programs, International Studies in Philosophy and Medicine, Freigericht, Germany. E-mail: corinna.delkeskamp-hayes{at}gmx.de.


  Abstract

This introduction explores the relationship between Europe and its Christianities. It analyses different diagnostic and evaluative approaches to Europe's Christian or post-Christian identity. These are grouped around the concepts of diverse traditional, and, on the other hand, post-Enlightenment Christianities. While the first revolves around a liturgical and mystical account of the church, a Christ-centred humanism, an emphasis on man's future life, noetic theology and a foundationalist claim to universal truth, the second endorses a moralization of the "Christian message," political implementation of "Christian goals," rationalism, a this-worldly humanism, and tolerance for religious diversity. Since even the concepts of "traditional" and "post-Enlightenment" Christianity turn out to be deeply ambiguous, the essay concludes with exploring the different ways in which the Christianity of the Apostolic Church, the Enlightenment (along with the "Western" Christianities it shaped), and contemporary liberalism each conceive of their respective endorsements of human freedom as either normative, that is obligatory, value-laden, or contingent, and arbitrary. In each case, a different notion of "tradition" (as well as familial and church authority) is placed either in harmony or in opposition to such freedom. As a result of this conceptual analysis, the deeply fractured identity of Europe, as exemplified by the diverse bioethical positions adopted by the authors in this issue, becomes visible.

Keywords: european identity, freedom, liberalism, pluralism, post-Enlightenment Christianity, solidarity, tradition


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