Suchergebnisse

This article works on the premise that critical posthumanism both exposes and calls into question the criteria by which Western modernity has defined the boundaries between nature, humanity, and technology. Yet the religious, cultural and epistemological developments of what is known as the 'postsecular' may signal a further blurring of another set of distinctions characteristic of modernity: between sacred and secular, belief and non-belief. Using Donna Haraway's famous assertion that she would 'rather be a cyborg than a goddess', I consider whether critical posthumanism's valorisation of cyborg identities is also capable of negotiating this 'final frontier' between immanence and transcendence, secular and sacred, humanity and divinity. In essence: is there space for a religious dimension to visions of the posthuman?

The rise of populist politics presents a range of challenges for the future of democracy. The religious dimensions of populism merit further investigation, not least insofar as appeals to 'Christian identity' feature within right-wing, nationalist rhetoric. Theological discourse needs to critique such a misappropriation of Christian discourse both in theory and in practice. First, it must substitute associations of Christianity with exclusive and fixed accounts of 'the people' with alternative accounts of the body of Christ as knowing no boundaries. Second, it must be countered by practical, public demonstrations of the churches as communities of practice that embody values of openness, inclusion and hospitality.