Radical Secularization? An Inquiry into the Religious Roots of Secular Culture
Ebook
What does it mean for a society to be secular? Answering this question from a philosophical angle, Radical Secularization? delves into the philosophical presuppositions of secularization. Which cultural evolutions made secularization possible? International scholars from different disciplines assess the answers given by many leading philosophers such as, among others, Löwith, Blumenberg and Habermas (Germany), Gauchet and Nancy (France), Taylor and Bellah (North America). They examine the theory that secularization cannot only be regarded as a cultural change that was forced upon religion from an external source (e.g. science), but should also be considered as a phenomenon triggered by motives internal to religion. If religions are indeed capable of inner transformations, the question arises whether religions can persist in the secular societies they inadvertently helped to bring about, and how secular societies may accommodate religion.
Examines contemporary philosophical theories about the secularization of religion and considers the political implications of these theories.
Offers new insights into the genealogy of secularization
Explores the current state of secularization theory in cultural and political philosophy
Explores the secularization theories of Löwith, Blumenberg, Marcel Gauchet and Jean-Luc Nancy, among others
Introduction
A. In the Wake of Löwith and Blumenberg
1. Heaven on Earth? The Löwith-Blumenberg debate
Jean-Claude Monod (Center for National Scientific Research, Paris)
2. The Eternal Return of Gnosticism? Secularization and the Problem of Evil
Willem Styfhals (KU Leuven)
3. To World or Not to World. Notes on the Limits of Sacrifice
Laurens ten Kate (University for Humanistics, Utrecht)
B. Secularization in Christianity and Beyond
4. Christianity, Incarnation and Disenchantment. Marcel Gauchet on the 'departure from religion'
André Cloots (Institute of Philosophy, KU Leuven)
5. The Strength of Weakness. Vattimo and Gauchet on Secularization
Andreas Michel (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Indiana)
6. The Legitimacy and Genealogy of Secularization in Question
J. Milbank (University of Nottingham)
7. Beyond Radical Secularization and Radical Orthodoxy
G. Vanheeswijck (University Antwerp and KU Leuven)
8. Apologetics and Anti-Apologetics in Taylor's A Secular Age
Charles Lockwood (Harvard University)
9. Religion, Modernity and 'Subtler Languages'
Gerbert Faure (KU Leuven)
10. Wilfred Cantwell Smith on the History of 'Religion' and 'Belief'
W. Van Herck (University of Antwerp)
11. Secularization as a Category of Historical Entitlement
H. De Vriese (University of Antwerp)
12. The Axial Age and the Dynamics of Transcendence
S. Latré (University of Antwerp)
Bibliography
Index
Secularization ranks today among the most contested terms in contemporary social theory. Like a magnet for fragments of iron, it bears the miraculous power to separate partisans from critics, polarizing the entire field of scholarly debate. Some insist on its continued longevity; others point to the current resurgence of religion and pronounce the very idea of secularization as ready for its last rites. Taking its cue from the earlier debate between Karl Löwith and Hans Blumenberg, this noteworthy collection of critical essays engages current theorists of secularization and religion (such as Charles Taylor, Gianni Vattimo, and Marcel Gauchet) and attests to the persistent power of this most controversial of ideas.
The contributions to this volume represent the cutting edge of discussion about secularity, encompassing some of the most important debates about transformations of religious practice, material and symbolic representation, the meanings of transcendence, global perspectives and local religions, and the unsteadiness of the 'immanent frame.'
- Title: Radical Secularization? An Inquiry into the Religious Roots of Secular Culture
- Authors: Stijn Latré, Walter Van Herck, Guido Vanheeswijck
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2014
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781628921793, 9781501322686, 1501322680, 162892179X
- Resource ID: LLS:9781628921793
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-04-12T01:25:08Z
Stijn Latré is Lecturer at the University of Antwerp, Belgium.
Walter Van Herck is Assistant Professor at the Department of Philosophy and the Centre Pieter Gillis of the University of Antwerp, Belgium. He is the co-editor of Humour and Religion (2011) and The Sacred in the City (2012). He is Editor-in-Chief of Bijdragen, International Journal in Theology and Philosophy.
Guido Vanheeswijck is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, and is part-time professor at the Institute of Philosophy at KU Leuven, Belgium. He is a member of the editorial board of the journals Bijdragen and Collingwood and British Idealism Studies.