St. Augustine was born in Northern Africa (what is now Algeria), which was largely Christian at that time, Augustine's father was a lawyer, his mother (St. Monica) a Christian. He received a classical education in Greek philosophy, Roman Law, rhetoric, and literature with the intent of becoming a lawyer. Attracted by philosophy, he began a long journey for truth, eventually becoming a professor in Rome. There he met St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, and was converted to Christianity under his inspiring preaching. In 391, he was seized by a church crowd after delivering a talk and was ordained as a priest on the spot. Four years later, he was made bishop of Hippo, North Africa.

Augustine is probably the most influential thinker in the Western Christian church, both Catholic and Protestant. This "Augustinian" Christianity remains the basis of most Catholic and Reformed theology. He is revered by both St. Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin. Augustine wrote an enormous amount of religious literature, sermons, letters, and books, the most famous of which are his Confessions and The City of God. The latter contains his political philosophy, the first systematic Christian political theory in the West. Augustine lived during the end of the Roman Empire (the destruction of Rome by barbarians led by Alaric the Goth in 410). Many Romans blamed the fall of their empire to the rise of Christianity and decline of pagan Roman religions. In his book The City of God, Augustine argued that it was actually the sins of those pagan beliefs that led to the moral decay and social and military weakness of the Roman Empire. In the process of defending the faith, St. Augustine developed a unique Christian political thought.

Augustinian political theory revolves around The Two Cities: the City of God--or transcendent heavenly kingdom--and the City of Man--or all earthly governments (regardless of kind). The City of God is that eternal realm ruled directly by God of perfect justice, perfect peace, and perfect love. The City of Man is all earthly states characterized by imperfect justice, imperfect peace, and incomplete love. Because of humanity's sinful nature, worldly governments will always be marked by corruption, greed, and lust for power; its values are ever wealth, domination, and prestige--emerging from human sin and pride. The city of God is marked by humility, poverty, lowliness, and love, as exemplified by Christ. Sometimes, Augustine refers to the City of Man as Babylon or Rome, and The City of God as Jerusalem. Another way of defining these two realms is by their respective loves: the love of humankind (or humanism) versus the love of God.

So Augustinian Christian political theory breaks with classical Greek and Roman thought in refusing to have confidence in any earthy regime, party, leader, or cause. All worldly attempts at reform are doomed by human self-righteousness and pride; only faith in God through Jesus Christ is satisfying. Because Jesus said "the kingdom of God is within you"--indwelling believers through the Holy Spirit--Christians reside in both Kingdoms or Cities. Since the Resurrection of Christ, the faithful live in the City of God, even on earth, spiritually, while still living in the City of Man temporarily. This "dual citizenship" of Christians requires them to be obedient to rulers but to regard God as their only true king and to see life on earth as a transient pilgrimage preparing them for eternal life in heaven. The church connects the Two Cities and resides in each: It has buildings and ministers and schools on earth, but its true home is with God in heaven. It represents God on earth as the Holy Spirit lives within the church and proclaims the truth of God's love and forgiveness through Christ to the world. The church, "the body of Christ," like Jesus when he walked the earth, is "in, but not of" the world: It resides and works in the world but adheres to heavenly values of humility, meekness, love, and forgiveness. For Augustine, the church must avoid the two temptations of (1) being totally in the world and corrupted by worldly power, wealth, and prestige; and (2) being wholly outside the world in purely mystical, spiritual contemplation. The church is to urge the government to grow closer to God's perfect justice and peace without ever expecting it to succeed by worldly reforms. Only when Christ returns to rule directly will perfect justice and peace reign in the world. Earthly political programs or movements that promise perfection (like communism) are a deception because sinful humans can never completely overcome their greed, selfishness, and oppression. Like the slogan on U.S. coins, Augustine believed only "In God We Trust." Christians should work on their internal, spiritual perfection more than external, social perfection.

In his life as a bishop of the Catholic Church, St. Augustine practiced what he preached. Although no earthly government could ever be perfect, he encouraged Christians to serve in the government to achieve the best possible state. Although such a Christian state would never be the City of God, it would receive the church’s counsel and become better. Bishop Augustine frequently wrote to secular Roman rulers imploring them to rule more justly and mercifully, seeing their political careers as divine callings to be required as given by God, in God's service, and accountable to God on Judgment Day. John Calvin got his idea of the magistracy being a divine calling and "ministry" from St. Augustine.

For example, Augustine as a bishop once wrote to a Roman governor asking for leniency for some convicted murderers who had killed some Catholic priests, appealing to Christ's dictum of "not returning evil for evil." The Western church has continued this role of advising, rebuking, and encouraging the state, as in the American Catholic Bishops Pastoral Letters on nuclear war or economic policy. In the Puritan tradition in America, this took an even more direct form, as the meeting house served for both public worship and public meetings, and ministers often advised the government.

From this perspective, St. Augustine developed a theory of the hierarchy of authority. The most basic authority, ordained of God, is parents, then local officials, then regional officials then national officials, then the church, and finally God. If a person receives conflicting orders from two authorities, that person, for Augustine, should obey the higher authority. So, if the government orders a citizen to do something contrary to God's law and will (such as mass murder), he should disobey the state and be obedient to God. This may cause Christians to be persecuted by the government (as they were in pagan Rome when they refused to worship emperors), but martyrdom guarantees heavenly glory. This idea of a higher law above the government forms the basis of future civil disobedience. It limits the power of earthly states.

Augustine also wrote on international politics, proclaiming that in a sinful world, war would not be eliminated and so Christians may participate in just wars where one country is defending itself or has a claim to justice greater than its opponent. Still, it is the church’s duty to encourage peaceful resolutions of political conflicts.

St. Augustine remains the premier Christian political thinker in the West, influencing most churches and church-state relations ever since.

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