Politics and the sacred

"This path-breaking book argues that practices of the sacred are constitutive of modern secular politics. Following a tradition of enquiry in anthropology and political theory, it examines how limit situations shape the political imagination and collective identity. As an experiential and cultu...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Wydra, Harald 1965- (Author)
Format: Print Book
Language:English
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WorldCat: WorldCat
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Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2015
In:Year: 2015
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Politics / Political theology / The Holy / The Political
B Political theology / The Holy / The Political
Further subjects:B Religion And Politics
Online Access: Cover (Verlag)
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Verlag)
Klappentext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:"This path-breaking book argues that practices of the sacred are constitutive of modern secular politics. Following a tradition of enquiry in anthropology and political theory, it examines how limit situations shape the political imagination and collective identity. As an experiential and cultural fact, the sacred emerges within, and simultaneously transcends, transgressive dynamics such as revolutions, wars, or globalisation"--
"This path-breaking book argues that practices of the sacred are constitutive of modern secular politics. Following a tradition of enquiry in anthropology and political theory, it examines how limit situations shape the political imagination and collective identity. As an experiential and cultural fact, the sacred emerges within, and simultaneously transcends, transgressive dynamics such as revolutions, wars, or globalisation. Rather than conceive the sacred as a religious doctrine or a metaphysical belief, Wydra examines its adaptive functions as origins, truths, and order which are historically contingent across time and transformative of political aspirations. He suggests that the brokenness of political reality is a permanent condition of humanity, which will continue to produce quests for the sacred, and transcendental political frames. This book examines the secular sources of political theologies, the democratic sacred, the communist imagination, European political identity, the sources of human rights, and the relationship of victimhood to new wars"--
"This path-breaking book argues that practices of the sacred are constitutive of modern secular politics. Following a tradition of enquiry in anthropology and political theory, it examines how limit situations shape the political imagination and collective identity. As an experiential and cultural fact, the sacred emerges within, and simultaneously transcends, transgressive dynamics such as revolutions, wars, or globalisation"--
"This path-breaking book argues that practices of the sacred are constitutive of modern secular politics. Following a tradition of enquiry in anthropology and political theory, it examines how limit situations shape the political imagination and collective identity. As an experiential and cultural fact, the sacred emerges within, and simultaneously transcends, transgressive dynamics such as revolutions, wars, or globalisation. Rather than conceive the sacred as a religious doctrine or a metaphysical belief, Wydra examines its adaptive functions as origins, truths, and order which are historically contingent across time and transformative of political aspirations. He suggests that the brokenness of political reality is a permanent condition of humanity, which will continue to produce quests for the sacred, and transcendental political frames. This book examines the secular sources of political theologies, the democratic sacred, the communist imagination, European political identity, the sources of human rights, and the relationship of victimhood to new wars"--
Item Description:Includes bibliographical references (pages 234-255) and index. Introduction. The sacred and the political -- 1. The extraordinary and the political imagination -- 2. The politics of transcendence -- 3. Secular sources of political theologies -- 4. Democracy and the sacred -- 5. The power of symbols: communism and beyond -- 6. Generations of European imaginations -- 7. The spell of humanity -- 8. Victim and new wars -- Epilogue. Rationalities of the sacred
ISBN:1107075378