An interpretation of Finnish religious nationalism: the fourtopoiof theological depoliticisation

Abstract

The topic of this article is the relation between 'politicality' and theology in the discourse of Finnish religious nationalism during the Winter War of 1939-40 and the Continuation War of 1941-44. I shall draw on the ideas of Kari Palonen and Anthony D. Smith in attempting to thematise theological depoliticisation as an intrinsic element of religious nationalism. Also, I will elaborate its political significance in the Finnish context, where the role of traditional religion in the general development of nationalist thought has been particularly important. The specific focus is on how prominent representatives of the Finnish clergy related to war and nationalist claims in general. My interpretation is that their arguments were drawn from what I call the topoi of theological depoliticisation, which, at the same time, rendered the discourse extremely political.This study arises out of two main ideas. The first is the analogy between religious commitment and devotion to the national cause as the basis of political legitimacy. My interest in the topic stems from this link between politics and theology: according to the Weber (1994: 316) definition, the state aims to monopolise the legitimate use of physical violence within a given territory, but how is this affected by a combination of religion and nationalism? The second is the thesis that authority is legitimised by 'the hallowed, eternal past', which has held sway from time immemorial (ibid.: 311).I shall examine the discourse of Finnish religious nationalism during the World War II. Drawing on the ideas of Kari Palonen and Anthony D. Smith, I attempt to thematise theological depoliticisation as an intrinsic element of religious nationalism and elaborate its political significance in the Finnish context. First, I will present the theoretical starting points and some ideas about religion and nationalism. Then I will analyse the rhetoric of representatives of the Finnish clergy. Due to the close and long-lasting relationship between the state, the army and the established church it is worth examining the higher clergy during wartime as representatives of Finnish religious nationalism. The empirical material consists of articles, sermons and statements.

“Here is ‘true Christianity’”: Peace movements contesting hegemonic nationalism of the Lutheran Church in Finland 1919–1932

“…The first of these contexts has to do with the sources used in the debates—Bible, catechism and Lutheran doctrines. The articulated interpretations that were based on these sources are here referred to as biblical‐doctrinal discourses , and they were crucial for establishing a common sense of national identity (Tilli, 2009: 599–603, 2014: 783–787).…”

Protestantism, nation and diaspora inImperialGermany

“…Purely secular categories such as language or ethnicity do not suffice to explain the deep‐rootedness and longevity of emotional attachment towards the nation‐state. Only religious elements provided a sacralised framework of binding commitments (Smith , ; Tilli ). Imperial Germany was a case in point.…”