Political theology of S. L. Frank in the context of Christian philosophy of religion

This article is devoted to the issue of politics in the work of an outstanding Russian religious philosopher S. L. Frank. Frank’s model can be characterized as “depoliticization” (K. Schmitt’s term), or “negative political theology” (J. Taubes’ term). The article analyzes Frank’s works on society and politics. The peculiarity of Frank’s approach is that he avoids the political itself and reduces it to social phenomena. Social phenomena, in turn, are deduced by Frank from the Absolute. The Absolute is described by Frank as the coincidence of opposites. Frank’s political concept thus stems from his theology. Reconciliation of contradictions in society leads to the abandonment of the main content of the political: political struggle. Thus, the political is relegated to the background. The article shows that Frank’s predecessors in the concept of depoliticization are St. Augustine, B. Pascal and S. Kierkegaard.