Carl Schmitt on Political Theology

Petr Slováček

The article deals with Carl Schmitt’s political theology and presents an analysis of the various meanings of this term which Carl Schmitt first introduced into political thinking of the 20th century. Based on a differentiation of the basic meanings of political theology as encountered in the literature, and with regard to the fact that Schmitt operates with biblical and theological motifs, most importantly the motif of humans being affected by the original sin and the motif of the katechon, it is claimed that Schmitt’s political theology is, rather, a theologia civilis whose theological content depends on political aims.