ABSTRACT
René Girard’s mimetic theory – a profound Christian anthropology – consists mainly of three pillars: mimetic desire, the scapegoat-mechanism as the origin of culture, and a theory of religion emphasizing the difference between pagan myth and Biblical revelation. These three hypotheses help us to understand the relationship between economic and political life. Over a very long period of time, political friend-enemy patterns kept economic competition inside certain boundaries. Today, this traditional type of political economy is in a deep crisis. Positively, political friend-enemy patterns have slowly been weakened. This, however, has also globalized competition endangering the environment and fuelling resentment and terrorism. Christianity contributed significantly to both these developments. More importantly, however, mimetic theory shows us that the world religions in general, and especially Christianity, may help us to overcome our current crisis. A political theology reflecting on the current state of our world gains significantly by taking the insights of mimetic theory into account. It will come to a better understanding concerning the type of solidarity that is needed in a globalizing world. Finally, a political theology along this line focuses also on the important role the church has to fulfil today.
