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IdeologyAnarchist family

Christian Anarchism

Also called: Tolstoyan anarchism · Tolstoyanism · Christian pacifist anarchism

Christian anarchism teaches that the way of Jesus, above all nonviolence and love for enemies, cannot be squared with the state, so believers should not obey or serve it.

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Christian Anarchism on 12 axes-100 to +100
ECONOMYSTATESOCIETYWORLDOwnershipMarketsWelfareAuthoritySecurityStructureMoralityReligionTechnologyCultureTradeForeign
Where it stands

Christian Anarchism, axis by axis

  1. 01Ownership-45
    PublicPrivate
  2. 02Markets-30
    PlannedFree
  3. 03Welfare-50
    SharedSelf-reliant
  4. 04Authority-100
    DemocraticStrong leader
  5. 05Security-85
    LibertyOrder
  6. 06Structure-95
    LocalCentral
  7. 07Morality+40
    ProgressiveTraditional

    Many hold strict personal ethics, like Tolstoy's simple living, but they refuse to enforce morals through the law.

  8. 08Religion+20
    SecularReligious

    Faith sits at the heart of the tradition, yet it opposes state churches and religious law, so it lands only a little toward the religious pole.

  9. 09Technology+50
    EmbraceCaution
  10. 10Culture-60
    MulticulturalNational identity
  11. 11Trade-20
    GlobalProtected
  12. 12Foreign policy-100
    CooperationStrength

What is Christian Anarchism?

Christian anarchists start from the Gospels and end up with no government. They read the Sermon on the Mount as a plain order: love your enemies, do not hit back, do not judge. The state, they say, runs on soldiers, prisons and punishment, which is the opposite. So a real follower of Jesus would not fight in wars, swear loyalty oaths or take part in the machinery of power. In its place they picture small voluntary communities that share what they have. Most are pacifists, and many distrust churches that sit close to rulers.

Core beliefs

  • Only God has real authority, so no ruler can claim a right to be obeyed.
  • Jesus taught nonviolence and love of enemies, and meant it literally.
  • A state built on force cannot be made to fit the Gospel.
  • Christians should say no to military service, oaths and government posts.
  • Life should be built around voluntary groups that share and help each other.
  • Churches that bless state power have drifted from what Jesus taught.

History

Followers look back to the first Christians, who refused to serve in the army, and to Anabaptist groups of the 1500s. In America in the 1800s, the minister Adin Ballou preached nonresistance and set up the Hopedale community. The best-known voice is Leo Tolstoy, who wrote The Kingdom of God Is Within You in 1894, after a spiritual crisis. He wrote that real Christianity cannot allow any state violence. He wrote to Gandhi, whose methods he helped shape. He also backed the Doukhobors, a group who refused to serve in the army and in 1899 moved to Canada. In 1933 Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin started the Catholic Worker in New York, with free meals, hospitality and pacifism. Later, in 1988, Jacques Ellul published Anarchy and Christianity.

Variants

Tolstoyans stress pacifism, a simple life and a sharp critique of church institutions and of owning land. The Catholic Worker stays inside the Catholic Church and draws on Catholic social teaching. Some Protestant writers with Anabaptist roots focus on keeping apart from the state, not on fighting it. They differ on tactics too: some accept tax refusal and civil disobedience, while others prefer to simply live outside the system.

Criticisms

Most theologians point to Romans 13, which says governments are put in place by God to keep order, and see no call to reject them. Others say strict pacifism leaves weak people open to attack by the strong. Secular anarchists find it odd to base a free society on God, since to them religion is itself a form of rule. A further charge is practical: a few small groups cannot supply courts, hospitals and defense for millions. Christian anarchists reply that the early church survived without state power.

In practice

Christian anarchists have never run a country. Their mark is in communities, conscientious objection, refusing to pay war taxes and peace protests. Catholic Worker houses and farms still operate in many cities. Tolstoy's thinking fed Gandhi's methods, which in turn shaped later civil rights campaigns. On the 12 axes, it scores at the Local end of Structure, near the Democratic pole on Authority and strongly toward Cooperation on Foreign policy.

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Christian Anarchism: questions

Is Christian anarchism left-wing?

It is usually placed on the left because it opposes war, police and wealth gaps. But it does not fit neatly. It holds strict personal ethics, puts faith at the center, and does not want the state to fix anything.

How is Christian anarchism different from other anarchism?

Other anarchists often reject religion and some accept force in a revolution. Christian anarchists ground their view in Jesus, and they rule out violence. Their aim is to leave state power alone, not to seize it.

Did Tolstoy call himself an anarchist?

Tolstoy rejected the state and its violence, and many call him a Christian anarchist. He mostly described his view as true Christianity. He also kept away from the violent revolutionaries who used the anarchist name in his day.

Further reading