Political theologies : public religions in a post-secular world

What has happened to religion in its present manifestations? In recent years, Enlightenment secularization, as it appeared in the global spread of political structures that relegate the sacred to a private sphere, seems suddenly to have foundered. Unexpectedly, it has discovered its own parochialism—has discovered, indeed, that secularization may never have taken place at all. With the “return of the religious,” in all aspects of contemporary social, political, and religious life, the question of political theology—of the relation between “political” and “religious” domains—takes on new meaning and new urgency. In this groundbreaking book, distinguished scholars from many disciplines—philosophy, political theory, anthropology, classics, and religious studies—seek to take the full measure of this question in today’s world. This book begins with the place of the gods in the Greek polis, then moves through Augustine’s two cities and early modern religious debates, to classic statements about political theology by such thinkers as Walter Benjamin and Carl Schmitt. Essays also consider the centrality of tolerance to liberal democracy, the recent French controversy over wearing the Muslim headscarf, and “Bush’s God talk.” The volume includes a historic discussion between Jürgen Habermas and Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, concerning the prepolitical moral foundations of a republic, and it concludes with explorations of new, more open ways of conceptualizing society. Preface / Hent de Vries and Lawrence E. Sullivan -- Introduction: before, around, and beyond the theologico-political / Hent de Vries -- What are political theologies? -- The gods of politics in early Greek cities / Marcel Detienne -- Church, state, resistance / Jean-Luc Nancy -- Politics and finitude : the temporal status of Augustine's Civitas permixta / M.B. Pranger -- The scandal of religion : Luther and public speech in the Reformation / Antónia Szabari -- On the names of God / Ernesto Laclau -- The permanence of the theologico-political? / Claude Lefort -- Violence in the state of exception : reflections on theologico-political motifs in Benjamin and Schmitt / Marc de Wilde -- Critique, coercion, and sacred life in Benjamin's "Critique of violence" / Judith Butler -- From Rosenzweig to Levinas : philosophy of war / Stéphane Mosès -- Levinas, Spinoza, and the theologico-political meaning of Scripture / Hent de Vries -- Beyond tolerance : pluralism and agonistic reason -- On the relation between the secular liberal state and religion / Jürgen Habermas -- Prepolitical moral foundations of a free republic / Pope Benedict XVI -- Bush's God talk / Bruce Lincoln -- Pluralism and faith / William E. Connolly -- Subjects of tolerance : why we are civilized and they are the barbarians / Wendy Brown -- Religion, liberal democracy, and citizenship / Chantal Mouffe -- Toleration without tolerance : enlightenment and the image of reason / Lars Tønder -- Saint John : the miracle of secular reason / Matthew Scherer -- Democratic republicanism, secularism, and beyond -- Reinhabiting civil disobedience / Bhrigupati Singh -- Rogue democracy and the hidden God / Samuel Weber -- Intimate publicities : retreating the theologico-political in the Chávez regime? / Rafael Sánchez -- The figure of the abducted woman : the citizen as sexed / Veena Das -- How to recognize a Moslem when you see one : Western secularism and the politics of conversion / Markha G. Valenta -- Laïcité or the politics of republican secularism / Yolande Jansen -- Trying to understand French secularism / Talal Asad -- Pim Fortuyn, Theo van Gogh, and the politics of tolerance in the Netherlands / Peter van der Veer -- Can a minority retain its identity in law? the 2005 Multatuli lecture / Job Cohen -- Prophetic justice in a home haunted by strangers : transgressive solidarity and trauma in the work of an Israeli rabbis' group / Bettina Prato -- Opening societies and the rights of the human -- Mysticism and the foundation of the open society : bergsonian politics / Paola Marrati -- The agency of assemblages and the North American blackout / Jane bennett -- Automatic theologies : surrealism and the politics of equality / Kate Khatib -- Theoscopy : transparency, omnipotence, and modernity / Stefanos Geroulanos -- Come on, humans, one more effort if you want to be post-christians! / Thierry de Duve -- The right not to use rights : human rights and the structure of judgments / Werner Hamacher Preface / Hent de Vries and Lawrence E. Sullivan Introduction: before, around, and beyond the theologico-political / Hent de Vries What are political theologies? The gods of politics in early Greek cities / Marcel Detienne Church, state, resistance / Jean-Luc Nancy Politics and finitude : the temporal status of Augustine's Civitas permixta / M.B. Pranger The scandal of religion : Luther and public speech in the Reformation / Antonia Szabari On the names of God / Ernesto Laclau The permanence of the theologico-political? / Claude Lefort Violence in the state of exception : reflections on theologico-political motifs in Benjamin and Schmitt / Marc de Wilde Critique, coercion, and sacred life in Benjamin's "Critique of violence" / Judith Butler From Rosenzweig to Levinas : philosophy of war / Stephane Moses Levinas, Spinoza, and the theologico-political meaning of Scripture / Hent de Vries Beyond tolerance : pluralism and agonistic reason ^On the relation between the secular liberal state and religion / Jurgen Habermas Prepolitical moral foundations of a free republic / Pope Benedict XVI Bush's God talk / Bruce Lincoln Pluralism and faith / William E. Connolly Subjects of tolerance : why we are civilized and they are the barbarians / Wendy Brown Religion, liberal democracy, and citizenship / Chantal Mouffe Toleration without tolerance : enlightenment and the image of reason / Lars Tnder Saint John : the miracle of secular reason / Matthew Scherer Democratic republicanism, secularism, and beyond Reinhabiting civil disobedience / Bhrigupati Singh Rogue democracy and the hidden God / Samuel Weber Intimate publicities : retreating the theologico-political in the Chavez regime? / Rafael Sanchez The figure of the abducted woman : the citizen as sexed / Veena Das How to recognize a Moslem when you see one : Western secularism and the politics of conversion / Markha G. Valenta ^Laicite or the politics of republican secularism / Yolande Jansen Trying to understand French secularism / Talal Asad Pim Fortuyn, Theo van Gogh, and the politics of tolerance in the Netherlands / Peter van der Veer Can a minority retain its identity in law? the 2005 Multatuli lecture / Job Cohen Prophetic justice in a home haunted by strangers : transgressive solidarity and trauma in the work of an Israeli rabbis' group / Bettina Prato Opening societies and the rights of the human Mysticism and the foundation of the open society : bergsonian politics / Paola Marrati The agency of assemblages and the North American blackout / Jane bennett Automatic theologies : surrealism and the politics of equality / Kate Khatib Theoscopy : transparency, omnipotence, and modernity / Stefanos Geroulanos Come on, humans, one more effort if you want to be post-christians! / Thierry de Duve ^The right not to use rights : human rights and the structure of judgments / Werner Hamacher. Presentación del editor: "What has happened to religion in its present manifestations? In recent years, Enlightenment secularization, as it appeared in the global spread of political structures that relegate the sacred to a private sphere, seems suddenly to have foundered. Unexpectedly, it has discovered its own parochialism-has discovered, indeed, that secularization may never have taken place at all. With the "return of the religious," in all aspects of contemporary social, political, and religious life, the question of political theology-of the relation between "political" and "religious" domains-takes on new meaning and new urgency. In this groundbreaking book, distinguished scholars from many disciplines-philosophy, political theory, anthropology, classics, and religious studies-seek to take the full measure of this question in today's world. This book begins with the place of the gods in the Greek polis, then moves through Augustine's two cities and early modern religious debates, to classic statements about political theology by such thinkers as Walter Benjamin and Carl Schmitt. Essays also consider the centrality of tolerance to liberal democracy, the recent French controversy over wearing the Muslim headscarf, and "Bush's God talk." The volume includes a historic discussion between Jurgen Habermas and Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, concerning the prepolitical moral foundations of a republic, and it concludes with explorations of new, more open ways of conceptualizing society." What has happened to religion in its present manifestations? Containing contributions from distinguished scholars from disciplines, such as: philosophy, political theory, anthropology, classics, and religious studies, this book seeks to address this question.