The Future Of Political Theology

Recent shifts in the contemporary cultural, political, and religious landscape are engendering intensive attention concerning political theology. New trends and traditional ideas equally colour these movements. Given that a medley of recent books and articles have exhaustively treated both the history and the current resurgence of political theology, we now find ourselves faced with the task of reinventing and redefining the future of political theology. This book presents a rich overview of fresh, contemporary theoretical approaches uniquely prioritizing the prospects of the future of political theology, but also making room for significant interventions from philosophy and political theory. Including prominent essays on Judaic, Islamic, Buddhist and Christian perspectives, this book balances elements from post-modern theology with more classical as well as anti-post-modern approaches.

In recent years, the rise of fundamentalism and a related turn to religion in the humanities have led to a powerful resurgence of interest in the problem of political theology. In a critique of this contemporary fascination with the theological underpinnings of modern politics, Victoria Kahn proposes a return to secularism—whose origins she locates in the art, literature, and political theory of the early modern period—and argues in defense of literature and art as a force for secular liberal culture. Kahn draws on theorists such as Carl Schmitt, Leo Strauss, Walter Benjamin, and Hannah Arendt and their readings of Shakespeare, Hobbes, Machiavelli, and Spinoza to illustrate that the dialogue between these modern and early modern figures can help us rethink the contemporary problem of political theology. Twentieth-century critics, she shows, saw the early modern period as a break from the older form of political theology that entailed the theological legitimization of the state. Rather, the period signaled a new emphasis on a secular notion of human agency and a new preoccupation with the ways art and fiction intersected the terrain of religion.

With a newly written preface relating his theology to the current global situation, The Future of Love contains revised versions of eighteen of John Milbank's essays on theology, politics, religion, and culture--ranging from the onset of neoliberalism to its current crisis, and from the British to the global context. Many of the essays first appeared in obscure places and are thus not widely known. Also included are Milbank's most important responses to critiques of his seminal work, Theology and Social Theory. Taken together, the collection amounts to a political theology arrived at from diverse angles. This work is essential reading for all concerned with the current situation of religion in the era of globalization and with the future development of Radical Orthodoxy.

In this collection, six leading theologians on political theology explore the contemporary states and potential future of the discipline. Offering a highly nuanced and complex picture of “older” and “newer” Political Theology, these scholars examine the multifaceted interconnections and tensions between political theologies, liberation theologies, feminist theologies, and theologies that see themselves as “postcolonial” or “decolonizing.” Among other topics, the authors address the ecumenical and global nature of political theology; the lack of critical feminist analysis in most political, liberation, and postcolonial theologies; the statements regarding political theology in the encyclicals of Benedict XVI; and the specific tasks that political theology must address to remain effective and relevant. Contributors include Jürgen Moltmann, Johann Baptist Metz , Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Francis Schüssler Fiorenza, Klaus Tanner, and Michael Welker.

God is dead, but his presence lives on in politics. This is the problem of political theology: the way that theological ideas find their way into secular political institutions, particularly the sovereign state. In this intellectual tour-de-force, leading political theorist Saul Newman shows how political theology arose alongside secularism, and relates to the problem of legitimising power and authority in modernity. It is not about the power of religion so much as about the religion of power. Examining the current crisis of the liberal order, he argues that recent phenomena such as the rise of populism, the renewed demand for strong national sovereignty and the return of religious fundamentalism may be understood through this paradigm. He illustrates his argument through an exploration of themes such as sovereignty, democracy, economics, technology, ecological catastrophe, messianism and the future of radical politics, engaging with thinkers ranging from Schmitt and Hobbes to Stirner, Foucault, and Agamben. This book will be a crucial text for all students, scholars and general readers interested in the meaning and significance of political theology for political theory.

In recent years, the rise of fundamentalism and a related turn to religion in the humanities have led to a powerful resurgence of interest in the problem of political theology. In a critique of this contemporary fascination with the theological underpinnings of modern politics, Victoria Kahn proposes a return to secularism—whose origins she locates in the art, literature, and political theory of the early modern period—and argues in defense of literature and art as a force for secular liberal culture. Kahn draws on theorists such as Carl Schmitt, Leo Strauss, Walter Benjamin, and Hannah Arendt and their readings of Shakespeare, Hobbes, Machiavelli, and Spinoza to illustrate that the dialogue between these modern and early modern figures can help us rethink the contemporary problem of political theology. Twentieth-century critics, she shows, saw the early modern period as a break from the older form of political theology that entailed the theological legitimization of the state. Rather, the period signaled a new emphasis on a secular notion of human agency and a new preoccupation with the ways art and fiction intersected the terrain of religion.

For theorists in search of a political theology that is more responsive to the challenges now facing Western democracies, this book tenders a new political economy anchored in a theory of value. The political theology of the future, Carl Raschke argues, must draw on a powerful, hidden impetus—the "force of God"—to frame a new value economy. It must also embrace a radical, "faith-based" revolutionary style of theory that reconceives the power of the "theological" in political thought and action. Raschke ties democracy's retreat to the West's failure to confront its decadence and mobilize its vast spiritual resources. Worsening debt, rising unemployment, and gross income inequality have led to a crisis in political representation and values that twentieth-century theorists never anticipated. Drawing on the thought of Hegel and Nietzsche as well as recent work by Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Jean-Joseph Goux, Giorgio Agamben, and Alain Badiou, among others, Raschke recasts political theology for a new generation. He proposes a bold, uncompromising critical theory that acknowledges the enduring significance of Marx without his materialism and builds a vital, more spiritually grounded relationship between politics and the religious imaginary.

In this collection, six leading theologians on political theology explore the contemporary states and potential future of the discipline. Offering a highly nuanced and complex picture of "older" and "newer" Political Theology, these scholars examine the multifaceted interconnections and tensions between political theologies, liberation theologies, feminist theologies, and theologies that see themselves as "postcolonial" or "decolonizing." Among other topics, the authors address the ecumenical and global nature of political theology; the lack of critical feminist analysis in most political, liberation, and postcolonial theologies; the statements regarding political theology in the encyclicals of Benedict XVI; and the specific tasks that political theology must address to remain effective and relevant. Contributors include Jurgen Moltmann, Johann Baptist Metz , Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, Francis Schussler Fiorenza, Klaus Tanner, and Michael Welker.