The Power of Religion in the Public Sphere

by Butler

• ISBN13: 9780231156462
• ISBN10: 0231156464
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-02-01
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr

Summary

The Power of Religion in the Public Sphereis a rare opportunity to experience a diverse group of preeminent philosophers tackle one all-encompassing contemporary concern: what role does or shouldreligion play in our public lives? Judith Butler's response reflects her recent work on state-sponsored violence in Israel, examining the function of religion within the context of cultural critique. Jürgen Habermas, best known for his innovative conception of the public sphere yet less of a commentator on religious practice, explores the limits of secularism, the enduring importance of religion, and the political significance of religious tolerance.On the heels of these interrogations, Charles Taylor takes stock of our post-Chistendom Christianity and the need for a radical redefinition of secularism, and Cornel West passionately defends civil disobedience and emancipatory theology, especially in the service of civil rights and opposition to war. In their introduction, Eduardo Mendieta and Jonathan VanAntwerpen detail the immense contribution of these philosophers to contemporary scholarship and, specifically, to the issues within this volume. In an afterword, Craig Calhoun discusses the effect of these approaches in national and international domains.

Author Biography

Judith Butler is the Maxine Eliot Professor in the Department of Rhetoric and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley. Her books include Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, Antigone's Claim: Kinship Between Life and Death, and Subjects of Desire: Hegelian Reflections in Twentieth-Century France. Jrgen Habermas is a German philosopher and sociologist. His recent works include The Future of Human Nature, The Divided West, and Between Naturalism and Religion: Philosophical Essays. Charles Taylor is a Canadian philosopher and professor emeritus of political science and philosophy at McGill University and a recipient of the Templeton Prize and the Kyoto Prize. His recent books include Varieties of Religion Today: William James Revisited, Modern Social Imaginaries and A Secular Age. Cornel West is Class of 1943 University Professor at Princeton University, where he teaches in the Center for African American studies and the Department of Religion. His recent books include Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism and Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. Eduardo Mendieta is professor of philosophy at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, and the author of The Adventures of Transcendental Philosophy and Global Fragments: Globalizations, Latinamericanisms, and Critical Theory. Jonathan Vanantwerpen is director of the program on religion and the public sphere at the Social Science Research Council, a visiting scholar at New York University's Institute for Public Knowledge, and coeditor of Varieties of Secularism in a Secular Age. Craig Calhoun is president of the Social Science Research Council and University Professor of the Social Sciences at New York University. His most recent works are Nations Matter. Culture, History, and the Cosmopolitan Dream and an edited collection titled Robert K. Merton: Sociology of Science and sociology as Science.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction: The Power of Religion in the Public Sphere	p. 1
ôThe Politicalö: The Rational Meaning of a Questionable Inheritance of Political Theology	p. 15
Why We Need a Radical Redefinition of Secularism	p. 34
Dialogue	p. 60
Is Judaism Zionism?	p. 70
Prophetic Religion and the Future of Capitalist Civilization	p. 91
Dialogue	p. 101
Concluding Discussion: Butler, Habermas, Taylor, West	p. 109
Afterword: Religion's Many Powers	p. 118
Index	p. 135
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