The Socio-Political Role of the Hermeneutics of Sacred Texts: The Example of Decalogue

The aim of my paper is to discuss the way religious practice and personal religiosity promotes (or impedes) civic engagement. Religion, with its system of practices and beliefs, is capable of elaborating a social and political critique that in turn can engender new ways of thinking and putting such critiques into practice. To argue my thesis, I will focus on the socio-political role of the hermeneutics of sacred texts. An interpretation of a sacred texts may have an effect on society via 1) the narrative (for example, the liberation of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt used to promote social revolution); and 2) the power of religious images to effect a transformation of values that promote social change. While seeking to explain a particular text, the interpretation of sacred texts also explains an actual situation by means of such a text.