During the last two decades we havewitnessed what Jos Casanova has characterised as "religion going public." This has not been a trend exclusive to traditionally religious nations. Rather, it has been visible in as diverse environments as that of the construction of the new Russian political identity or in the "post-9/11" political discourses of the USA. Surprisingly, important religious manifestations alsoinfluenced the political discourses in Britain and, more recently, in France. Partly as a consequence of these phenomena an intensive debate is now evolving about the compatibility of the neutrality of liberal democracy in relation to religiously motivated opinions in public discourses, and the conditions under which such religiously driven contributions could viably "go public."This bookoffers a collection of essays on Religion and Democracywhich critically discusses the most important questions that characterize these debates at the points of their intersection within political theory, political theology and the philosophy of religion, and considers both the challenges and the prospects of this new era which, following Habermas, one may call post-secular. "
Pages
232
Format
ebook
Publisher
Continuum
Release
March 18, 2010
ISBN
1441171517
ISBN 13
9781441171511
From Political Theory to Political Theology: Religious Challenges and the Prospects of Democracy
During the last two decades we havewitnessed what Jos Casanova has characterised as "religion going public." This has not been a trend exclusive to traditionally religious nations. Rather, it has been visible in as diverse environments as that of the construction of the new Russian political identity or in the "post-9/11" political discourses of the USA. Surprisingly, important religious manifestations alsoinfluenced the political discourses in Britain and, more recently, in France. Partly as a consequence of these phenomena an intensive debate is now evolving about the compatibility of the neutrality of liberal democracy in relation to religiously motivated opinions in public discourses, and the conditions under which such religiously driven contributions could viably "go public."This bookoffers a collection of essays on Religion and Democracywhich critically discusses the most important questions that characterize these debates at the points of their intersection within political theory, political theology and the philosophy of religion, and considers both the challenges and the prospects of this new era which, following Habermas, one may call post-secular. "