Suchergebnisse

"The 'return of religion' in the public sphere and the emergence of post-secular societies have propelled the discourse of political theology into the centre of contemporary democratic theory. This situation calls forth the question addressed in this book: Is a democratic political theology possible? Carl Schmitt first developed the idea of the Christian theological foundations of modern legal and political concepts in order to criticize the secular basis of liberal democracy. He employed political theology to argue for the continued legitimacy of the absolute sovereignty of the state against the claims raised by pluralist and globalized civil society. This book shows how, after Schmitt, some of the main political theorists of the 20th century, from Jacques Maritain to Jürgen Habermas, sought to establish an affirmative connection between Christian political theology, popular sovereignty and the legitimacy of democratic government. In so doing, the political representation of God in the world was no longer placed in the hands of hierarchical and sovereign lieutenants (Church, Empire, Nation), but in a series of democratic institutions, practices and conceptions like direct representation, constitutionalism, universal human rights, and public reason that reject the primacy of sovereignty"--

Why has religion become such a politically contested issue in the late 20th century? In liberal democracies the state is meant to be neutral towards religious beliefs and rituals of its citizens; the legal system is supposed to decide about guilt or innocence without religious prejudice. Political theology is a discourse developed during the 20th century that questions these widely held assumptions. It studies how political and legal concepts were derived from theological ones, dissolving the connection between the public sphere and secularism, and bringing religion out from the private sphere and into democratic life. This text examines to what extent contemporary democracy rests on theological assumptions.

Why has religion become such a politically contested issue in the late 20th century? In liberal democracies the state is meant to be neutral towards religious beliefs and rituals of its citizens; the legal system is supposed to decide about guilt or innocence without religious prejudice. Political theology is a discourse developed during the 20th century that questions these widely held assumptions. It studies how political and legal concepts were derived from theological ones, dissolving the connection between the public sphere and secularism, and bringing religion out from the private sphere and into democratic life. This text examines to what extent contemporary democracy rests on theological assumptions.