Reflections on Identity, Ethnicity and the Rise of Populism in Austria: Implications for Reconciliation and the Multicultural Character of the Church
This article explores the recent rise of populism in Austria which is bound up with debates about migration and globalisation. As an Austrian citizen, the author finds the rise o f populism and the incipient racism cause for concern. Following reflection on themes like conflict and racism, the study...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Amsterdam University Press
[2019]
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| In: |
European journal of theology
Year: 2019, Volume: 28, Issue: 1, Pages: 54-65 |
| IxTheo Classification: | CB Christian life; spirituality CG Christianity and Politics KBB German language area |
| Further subjects: | B
Ethnicity
B Emigration & Immigration B Globalization B Populism B Ethnocentrism B Stereotypes B Racism |
| Summary: | This article explores the recent rise of populism in Austria which is bound up with debates about migration and globalisation. As an Austrian citizen, the author finds the rise o f populism and the incipient racism cause for concern. Following reflection on themes like conflict and racism, the study considers aspects of populism: populism as an ideology, its relationship to world-view, to ethnocentrism and to racism and the underlying factors in Austrian society which provoke populist stances. The pressures on identity in the Austrian setting are viewed in relation to factors prompting an Austrian identity crisis. Ethnic identity is formed through a complex process of finding shared similarities within a group as well as finding differences from other groups. This process helps human beings to make sense of the world and to gain identity, but the dangers include stereotyping people into the 'deserving' and 'undeserving'. Critical reflection on ethnic identity from a Christian perspective suggests that Christian identity is shaped by being in the 'image of God' and 'in Christ'. The Church, a new humanity, needs to affirm this identity and to follow Christ's example in modelling a restored and reconciled multi-ethnic kingdom community. The article concludes by probing how local churches in Austria can respond to the issues discussed and the potential contribution of multicultural churches to ethnic reconciliation through the transformative process of being 'liberated' from negative attitudes to the 'other'. It suggests that the church in Austria needs to realise its calling to be an 'expansive' community in order to fulfil its role as an agent of ethnic reconciliation in the wider society. (English) |
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| ISSN: | 2666-9730 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: European journal of theology
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