For the first time, a comprehensive analysis of the features of the political theology of the American Protestant theologian Stanley Hauerwas. His theology unites a large number of topics and urgent problems, including: medicine, ethics, disability, politics, education, the problem of peace. Hauervas considers all problems from the position of his own ecclesiology, his understanding of the church as a community of the faithful with character, whose righteousness allows him to perceive the narratives of Scripture and act in accordance with them in all areas of human life.
The paper reveals the key themes of S. Hauerwas, explores his main ideological trajectories, in particular those related to the concepts of authenticity, visibility and publicity of the Christian community in modern societies. The study also considers the philosophical and theological sources of the theory of S. Hauerwas, highlights the features of his methodology.
Among the important methodological accents of Hauervas are a narrative approach, understanding theological search not as a "position", but as trajectories and paths, a vision of theology as a common cause, theology "from within" the community, as well as the search for a holistic theological vision and overcoming false dichotomies inherited from philosophy modernity, such as the opposition of faith and knowledge, theory and practice.
The special significance of the need to return to the political nature of the church, which relates primarily to the understanding of the church as a locus of political life. Hauervas understands the church as a special "polis" that is even broader in its functions than Christian civil society. The existence of such a special "policy" is already the beginning of a holistic transformation of society as a whole, from peacebuilding policy to education. Every dimension of the ecclesiastical space, whether sacred, koinonic, economic and political, contributes to the visibility of the church and its authentic representation in the secular space.
The paper also explores the main criticisms of Hauerwas the theologian, primarily concerning the limitations and shortcomings of the modernist liberal project, and especially the threat of assimilation of the church community, its transformation into a civil religion, and thus extinction. Hauervas convincingly proves the insufficiency of the liberal modern understanding of man and society when it comes to the formation of character and virtue, without which it is impossible to imagine the development of the space of freedom and the achievement of peace and mutual understanding.
The work reflects that the Christian community demonstrates dedication to its own narrative, developing virtues and character. The key virtue of the church in the conditions of the prevailing liberal discourse is the ability of Christians to peace, which in turn makes it possible to discover the dignity of the other, to build a constructive dialogue about the common good and the authentic implementation of Christian narrative and beliefs in modern society.
