Public Witness through the Church as the Disciple Community in the Context of Christian Nationalism

Abstract

In Central and Eastern Europe, some branches of the Church have formed alliances with nationalist politics characterized by fundamentalism and fanaticism. To identify this phenomenon, Czech theologian Tomaš Halik coined the term “f-word pseudoreligion.” Pavol Bargár suggests that such an approach to one’s faith and public witness is one of the most serious challenges the church’s mission in CEE must face. First, the other tends to be viewed as a menace rather than a precious gift. Second, its adherents can fall prey to idealized traditionalism rather than drawing from the treasures of Christian tradition, the gospel itself. After defining Christian nationalism, I will focus on the Visegrád nations: Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia. In response to this missional challenge, I argue for public witness through the church as a disciple community. Discipleship as apprenticeship to Jesus does not lie in affiliation to an established church representing a particular national identity. Such idealized traditionalism found in settled religious forms can be called temple spirituality. The apostle Paul did not focus on temple spirituality or church planting; he nurtured disciple communities toward maturity in Christ. While Biblicism, crucicentrism, conversionism, and activism define a certain kind of evangelical piety, the church as a disciple community is both pilgrim and indigenous. When the telos of loving communion with God and neighbor shapes the disciple community’s identity and mission, churches can engage biblical resources and traditions to serve social realities in ways that bring hope, reconciliation, and healing.