Novalis’s Christendom or Europe: A Reading Experience in Historical Perspective

Abstract

The article analyses the essay of the German romantic Novalis (Hartmann von Hardenberg, 1772–1801) Christendom or Europe which has not lost its relevance due to the fact that the evolution of values in central European countries (Germany, France, England, etc.) still remains the focus of attention for today’s world politics, media, and science. Russian scholars have turned to the essay a number of times, but the analysis was most frequently synchronic, which implies that the context was also rather narrow. On the contrary, this article analyses the essay diachronically, within the context of present-day axiological transformations taking place in the countries of the west (Germany, France, and England). To provide a more complete understanding of the essay, the author of the article takes into account the history of the essay’s publication relying on P. Bourdieu’s theories. Reading the essay through a historical perspective proves that Novalis was one of the first “seismograph” writers who was able to notice profound changes in religion, ethics and politics that were taking place in Europe and were caused by the rejection of Christian values. Novalis explained the European value transformation by the Reformation and the epoch of the Enlightenment. The European Union was a result of this intellectual ferment and was based on such notions as secularization, peace, freedom, stability, well-being, multiculturalism, liberalization, human rights protection, single market, etc. However, it is still important how the EU with its post-Christian values and (neo-) liberalism can deal with new problems caused by the influx of migrants from the Muslim countries of Africa and the Middle East.