Politics of immortality: Hobbes on "humane and Divine politiques"
Hobbes anticipates many important features of liberalism, including rights, the sovereign state, social contract and constitutionalism. Yet in his insistence that the sovereign will have final authority in matters of faith he appears to repudiate what we have come to consider the core liberal assump...
| Published in: | Political theology |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group
[2017]
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| In: |
Political theology
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Hobbes, Thomas 1588-1679
/ Religion
/ Politics
/ Immortality
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| RelBib Classification: | CG Christianity and Politics KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history NBQ Eschatology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Hobbes anticipates many important features of liberalism, including rights, the sovereign state, social contract and constitutionalism. Yet in his insistence that the sovereign will have final authority in matters of faith he appears to repudiate what we have come to consider the core liberal assumptions regarding separation of church and state. In this article, I argue that Hobbes takes this approach because of the political challenge posed by immortality (the promise of eternal rewards and the threat of eternal torment and damnation after death). Hobbes regards immortality as one of the most important factors that transform a religion from a means to strengthen the sovereign's authority, a "humane politiques," to a "Divine politiques," where others come to exercise countervailing claims on subjects' loyalty. Because immortality presents such a profound challenge to Hobbes' political remedy founded on the judicious use of fear, he adopts a twofold strategy to moderate its political influence. The first is a redefinition of who shall speak and what shall be said about immortality. The second strategy is to elevate the demands of this-world, by promising an eternal peace that will ensure a commodious life. |
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| Item Description: | Das Heft ist als Doppelheft erschienen "Volume 18 Numbers 1-2 February-March 2017" |
| ISSN: | 1462-317X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Political theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1179/1743171915Y.0000000009 |