ABSTRACT
We begin by noticing that reconciliation is a concept that has been taken from non-
political domains: theology and personal relationships are the most obvious. ‘God
reconciled the world to himself in Christ’ says Paul in the Second Epistle to the
Corinthians (2 Corinthians 5:19). Reconciliation here is the restoration of God’s
relationship with humankind that had been broken by sinful humanity. But what
exactly is the connection between Jesus’ death on the Cross and the restoration of
God’s relationship with humankind? Why was it necessary for him to die so that the
relationship could be restored? Why couldn’t God simply forgive humankind? We
shall see that there are different answers to these questions, and that they differ in
the way in which they understand the idea of reconciliation. These different religious
understandings of reconciliation are mirrored by different understandings of
reconciliation in politics, and in particular the role that punishment and forgiveness
play in it. Understanding the religious notion of reconciliation will turn out to be
highly relevant for the formulation of a political conception of it.
