The Sacrality of the Secular : Postmodern Philosophy of Religion

As philosophers in the continental tradition have taken an interest in the return of religion, anthropologists and sociologists have rejected the once-dominant secularization thesis. Bradley B. Onishi connects these lines of thought to reveal how philosophy’s religious investigations have enabled critical reflections on the category of the secular. Through a bold and historically rooted vision for the future of philosophy of religion, The Sacrality of the Secular maps new and compelling possibilities for a nonsecularist secularity. In recent decades, philosophers in the continental tradition have taken a notable interest in the return of religion, a departure from the supposed hegemony of the secular age that began with the Enlightenment. At the same time, anthropologists and sociologists have begun to reject the once-dominant secularization thesis, which both prescribed and described the demise of religion in modern societies. In The Sacrality of the Secular, Bradley B. Onishi reconsiders the role of religion at a time when secularity is more tenuous than it might seem. He demonstrates that philosophy's entanglement with religion led, perhaps counterintuitively, to vibrant reconceptions of the secular well before the unraveling of the secularization thesis or the turn to religion. Through rich readings of Heidegger, Bataille, Weber, and others, Onishi rethinks what philosophy can contribute to our understanding of religion and the wider social and cultural world. Contents Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations INTRODUCTION: PHILOSOPHY’S “TURN TO RELIGION” AND SECULARITIES BEYOND SECULARISM 1. DIFFERENT WORLDS: WEBER, HEIDEGGER, AND THE MEANING OF LIFE 2. PHILOSOPHIZING WITH RELIGION: SECULAR REENCHANTMENT IN THE EARLY HEIDEGGER 3. EXCENDENCE AND HETEROLOGY: RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR IN INTERWAR PARIS 4. A PROPHET OF THE IMPOSSIBLE: BATAILLE’S MYSTICAL TURN AND CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION 5. THE SACRALITY OF THE SECULAR: ON THE HISTORY AND END OF PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION CONCLUSION: CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES—THREE EXAMPLES Notes Bibliography Index In The sacrality of the secular, Bradley B. Onish reconsiders the role of religion at a time when secularity if more tenuous than it might seem. He demonstrates that philosophy's entanglement with religion led, perhaps counterintuitively, to vibrant reconceptions of the secular well before the unraveling of the secularization thesis or the turn to religion. Through rich readings of Heidegger, Bataiille, Weber, and others, Onishi rethinks what philosophy can contribute to our understanding of religion and the wider social and cultural world