“宗教冷战”与美国—梵蒂冈的“神圣同盟”

“Religious Cold War”and the“Holy Alliance”between the United States and the Vatican

宗教在冷战中发挥了重要作用,这特别体现在世界上最大的宗教团体梵蒂冈和第二次世界大战后最强大的政治、经济和军事力量美国之间的“神圣同盟”。冷战之初,杜鲁门总统恢复了第二次世界大战期间美国和梵蒂冈之间的私人特使通道,并有意使用宗教话语来表述两大阵营之间的冲突。美国和梵蒂冈在意大利选举等一系列问题上密切合作,以对抗当时共产主义在欧洲的影响。然而,天主教和基督新教之间的历史矛盾,曾一度使杜鲁门时期的宗教联盟计划受阻。1962-1965年的“梵二”会议倡导和平与对话,并在东西对峙之外提出了南北矛盾的问题。宗教使命和政治利益的分歧在一定程度上影响了冷战的变奏。1984年,美国和梵蒂冈正式建交使冷战时期的合作关系发展为固定的机制性关系。教宗若望·保禄二世和里根总统之间的合作是促成冷战结束的重要原因。冷战后的“文明冲突论”反映了宗教对国际政治的持续影响。

Religion played a significant role during the Cold War.The “holy alliance” between the most prominent religious institution,the Vatican,and the most powerful state after the Second World War,the United States,is a case in point.President Truman restored the personal envoy to the Vatican and used religious discourse intentionally to describe the enmity between the Eastern and Western blocks.The United States and the Vatican collaborated in a series of events,such as ageneral election in Italy,to combat the influence of Communism in Europe.However,the historical contradiction between Catholicism and Protestantism made such a religious alliance impossible.Moreover,the Second Vatican Council from 1962to 1965 highlighted peace and dialogue and proposed the North-South difference as an important theme in parallel with the East-West conflict.It therefore reflected the divergence between religious vision and political interest,which to some extent reshaped the course of the Cold War.The U.S.-Vatican cooperation culminated in the establishment of formal diplomatic relationship in 1984.Cooperation between President Reagan and Pope John PaulⅡwas a critical factor that helped end the Cold War.The so-called “clash of civilizations”during the post-Cold War era is a testament to the continuous impact of religion on international politics.