2002年6月

基督教與美國民主政治的建立：新制度論的重新詮釋
Christianity and the Establishment of American Democracy: A Reinterpretation from the New Institutionalist Perspective

研究論文 Research Article

郭承天
Chengtian Kuo

175-209

基督敎與民主政治有必然的關連嗎？目前學者的看法似乎趨向兩極。本文以美國的建國爲例，說明兩者的關連決定於基督敎是否經過本土化，建立起民主神學 (democratic theology) 和民主敎權（democratic ecclesiology )。歐洲新敎在傳入美洲以後，受到當時環境（如開發地的廣大、種族與宗敎派別的多樣性、以及十八世紀初期宗敎大復興運動）的影響，促成了美國宗敎體系中民主神學和民主敎權的出現，影響到美國人民選擇了獨立的道路以及民主政府的體制。美國宗敎體系中的民主神學，主要是從呼召的概念，加入了政府契約論、革命論、擴大的平等觀、對於君主和貴族政體的批判、以及政敎分立論，從而主張獨立建國並且建立民主政體，以保障平等和自由。美國宗敎體系中的民主敎權，則是指信仰自由的保障制度，平信徒的敎會參與制度，以及會眾制度。這些實際的敎會生活制度，使得美洲殖民地的人民在生活中學習到民主制度，並且從下往上的逐漸建立起國家的民主政體。

Is there a necessary relationship between Christianity and democ­racy? Contemporary scholars seem to have opposite answers to this question. With the examination of the American case, this paper argues that the relationship between Christianity and democracy is determined by the establishment of democratic theology and democratic ecclesiology through the indiginization of religion. After the transplantation of Euro­pean Protestantism on American soil, the idiosyncratic environmental factors, such as the huge size of the colonies, the multiplicity of religious denominations, and the religious revivalism of the early eighteenth century, contributed to the establishment of democratic theology and democratic ecclesiology. Together they deeply affected American colonists' choice of independence and democratic polity. The democratic theology of American religion systems built on the core concept of calling and merged with the theories of contractarianism, revolution, enlarged egalitarianism, criticisms of monarchy and aristocracy, and the separation of state and church. The democratic ecclesiology consisted of those church institutions that protected the freedom of conscience, the participation in church affairs by lay believers, and congregationalism. Through these pragmatic institutions, American colonists learned about democracy from their daily lives, and built a national democracy from the bottom up.

美國歷史, 基督教, 民主政治, 新制度論, 民主神學, 民主教權
American History, Christianity, Democracy, New Institutionalism, Democratic Theology, Democratic Ecclesiology.

政治學
Political Science

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