The Political Reflections of Religious Thought in Benjamin Constant

Abstract

De La Religion of Benjamin Constant -one of the founders of modern liberalism and negative freedom- has been admitted as a non political work and ignored by commentators. However Constant never went out the scope of politics via this anthropological work, rather he maintained in this book that there are approximations between politics and religion. According to that a liberal political system can endure with a religious doctrine rely on a pure “religious sentiment” and by rejecting the Clergy authority. Also Constant’s researches to purification of religious sentiment bring him to the individual’s natural tendency to perfection and communitarian roots of humans. So, we can claim that via religion Benjamin Constant worked to reconcile negative and positive liberty. In this manner, this study aims to expose the political content in his philosophy of religion.

Keywords

• Benjamin Constant, Negative Freedom, Positive Freedom, Religious Form, Religious Sentiment, Political Liberalism

BENJAMİN CONSTANT’DA DİN DÜŞÜNCESİNİN POLİTİK YANSIMALARI

Öz

Modern liberalizmin ve negatif özgürlük düşüncesinin kurucu isimlerinden biri olarak gösterilen Benjamin Constant’ın, dini konu alan De La Religion adlı eseri düşünürün politika dışı bir çalışması olarak görülüp göz ardı edilmiş ve hak ettiği ilgiyi görememiştir. Ancak bu antropolojik çalışma ile o siyasal alanın dışına çıkmamış, dinsel olan ile siyasal olan arasında büyük bir koşutluk olduğunu iddia etmiştir. Buna göre özgürlükçü bir siyasal rejim ancak ruhban otoritesini reddeden ve saf bir “dinsel imana” dayanan dinsel öğretiler ile mümkün olacaktır. Ayrıca Constant’ın dinsel imanı saflaştırmaya dönük arayışları onu bireyin hem komüniteryan köklerine hem de insan doğasının mükemmelleşme eğilimine götürmüştür. Böylelikle düşünür negatif özgürlük fikrine dayanan liberalizm içinden pozitif özgürlüğe bir dal uzatmıştır. Bu çalışmanın temel amacı da bu doğrultuda düşünürün din felsefesindeki siyasal yansımaları ortaya koymaktır

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Benjamin Constant, Negatif Özgürlük, Pozitif Özgürlük, Dinsel Form, Dinsel İman, Siyasal Liberalizm

Kaynakça

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