Managerial, Social, and Political Aspects of the Activity of Selected Religious Groups

Robert Janik

Religions have accompanied mankind since the beginning of its existence, and there are many indications that its development was facilitated by them. Analysis of the history of homo sapiens also allows the conclusion that its success has been indispensably associated with readiness for creative problem solving, consistency in the implementation of new ideas and courage in taking risks. In this regard, religious life provided mankind with valuable inspira-tions. Religions have dealt with the relationship between the sacred and the pro-fane and built axiological systems that distinguish "good" from "evil", the theological search for the existence of the "moral compass" has played an important role in this context. In the sacred texts of many religions, one can also find passages dedicated to management and to the issues such as the "use of talents," showing initiative and resourcefulness. Early civilizations initiated numerous processes which led to the develop-ment of different forms of statehood. As a rule, religions created specific po-litical and social climates conducive to the formation of organizations, and because they had the educated ranks of clergy at their disposal, they could provide states with cadres of administrators if needed. The developed hierar-chies present in religious organizations also played an important role in sup-porting civilizational projects. Since the Reformation and the associated religious wars, the influence of religion has begun to wane, especially since the French Revolution. In addi-tion, the political, social, and economic changes that took place as a result of technical development and industrialization significantly accelerated the pro-cess of secularization. The 20th century was particularly difficult for religions, as it was then that atheism and anti-clericalism were included in the program of the communist movement. Apart from this, the broad spectrum of non-Marxist socialism also often showed anti-religious tendencies. What is more, the threat to traditional Christian Churches has come not on-ly from the political left, but also partly from the far right. While it was not noticeable in the cases of Italian or Spanish fascism, it was rather different as far as the most murderous fascist system, National Socialism in Germany, was concerned; it was only the need to concentrate upon warfare that prevented Adolf Hitler from implementing his plan to introduce a "Germanic cult" in the Third Reich. After World War II, the societal and political influence of traditional Chris-tian Churches in Europe, as well as their membership, decreased because of cultural changes. Furthermore, in large swathes of Asia, especially in China, North Korea and Vietnam, the "red movement" triumphed, which meant that religious life did not develop in the territories under its control. Cultural changes to the disadvantage of traditional beliefs also did not miss big parts of Latin America and some Arab countries, where clerical circles lost a lot of their political influence as a result of "Arab socialism." However, the renaissance of religions was seen before long. The turning point was the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the invasion of Afghanistan by USSR troops, both in 1979, which resulted in a "holy war" declared by the radical Islamic forces on the Soviets. The support for the mujahideen from Western countries, led by the USA, enabled them to win and caused a wave of "religious revival" in Muslim countries. The forces which collided with the power of Western democracies in the 21st century were activated in this peri-od. In Central and Eastern Europe, religious revival played an important role in overthrowing communism. We can tentatively say that, in the last few decades, the role of religion in the world has begun to grow, although not always in traditional forms, for example, in the West, the so-called "new religious groups", which often show syncretistic tendencies, have been popular. Just like many widely recognized confessional organizations, some of them are very interested in business, poli-tics, economics, and managerial practices. The achievements of "traditional" religions as well as the "new" ones in these areas of activity deserve attention.