Dialectics of Secularization: On Reason and Religion

Theologian Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) and Jürgen Habermas—philosopher and Neo-Marxist social critic—discuss and debate aspects of secularization, and the role of reason and religion in a free society. Both men insist that proponents of secular reason and religious conviction should learn from each other, even as they differ over the particular ways that mutual learning should occur. These insightful essays are the result of a remarkable dialogue between the two men, sponsored by the Catholic Academy of Bavaria, the year before Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope.