The Concept of Citizenship from a Philosophical and Theological Perspective

Abstract

The concept of citizenship is becoming more and more important in the field of thematic research, especially when addressing issues of national and transnational citizenship law. The concept of citizenship has its origin in Greek and Roman antiquity, where citizens – free and adult men – had rights, freedoms, and obligations.
From that time until the present day, when the transnational elements of the concept of citizenship tend to replace the ethno-state elements, its definition, and the concept itself have undergone a series of changes. Their synthetic, unified approach is difficult to achieve. This is why the author of this article aims to analyze, using specific research methods, the philosophical and theological aspects of the concept of citizenship, starting in this effort from the text of the Old and New Testament and from the work of Blessed Augustine, De civitate Dei.
This paper is part of a broader effort to explore the topic, materialized in a series of articles and studies published in scientific journals: Augustinian Model in the Byzantine Political Thinking. Case Study: The Elements of Political Augustinism in the Current Romanian Mentality, Termenele acordării și redobândirii cetățeniei române, Romanian Citizenship. Case Study: Districts Teceu and Rahau from the Right Side of the Tisza, Introducere în legislația privind cetățenia română etc. The titles of the works suggest a historical and legal analysis, which limits debates and deprives the concept of its theological and philosophical value. Therefore, it is necessary to initiate two directions of analysis: one through which the author aims to identify the mystical-religious elements present in the national and European legislation on citizenship, and a second one in which emphasis is placed on the secular, desacralized elements of the relevant legislation.