Christian anarchism
There has been a historical view held by some that Christian communities have only one source of authority to which they are answerable, and that is the authority of God as embodied in Jesus. Many Christians feel therefore that earthly authority such as government, or indeed the established church, does not and should not have power over them.This is equivalent to mainstream Anarchism, with a basis of spiritual justification. Its adherents point to the teachings of Jesus, some of which were very critical of the existing establishment.
There are anarchical traces in much of the history of Christianity. For example the Reformation had the idea at its core that the individual believer could have a direct relationship with God, without the need for a worldly superstructure of ceremony, clergy or liturgy.
The Anabaptist Protestant sect was seen as anarchic in 15th Century Germany, at the time of the Reformation. Some of its adherents vowed to overthrow the established Government, which led to extensive military action at the time.
The Reformation also left behind the notion that salvation had to be earned, through a range of good works and practices interpreted and prescribed by the Church: instead, the concept of grace was seen to produce salvation for genuine believers and for those who follow God's revealed word.
Leo Tolstoy is notable for having written extensively on his anarchist principles, which he arrived at via his Christian faith. Notably his books The Gospel in Brief and The Kingdom of God is Within You expounded a philosophy very similar to that of his contemporary Mikhail Bakunin, with critique of the state, industrial capitalism, exploitation of the peasants and proletariat, a strong denouncement of the clergy and the Church in general, and a call for a society based on non-violent principles.
