%0 Electronic Article %A Guanzini, Isabella %I Brill %D 2018 %G English %@ 2364-2807 %T Rethinking Parrhesia. Theological-Political Considerations on the Present Crisis of Religious Representation %J Interdisciplinary journal for religion and transformation in contemporary society %V 4 %N 2 %P 306-321 %U https://www.vr-elibrary.de/doi/abs/10.14220/jrat.2018.4.2.306 %U https://doi.org/10.14220/jrat.2018.4.2.306 %X In the Old Testament, the figure of prophecy represents the protest against the political and sacerdotal power through a person who is external or excluded from the system. In Israel, sacredness and sovereignty separated themselves, not only allowing resistance against abuses of power but also giving the chance of another word of justice and truth. The first part of this contribution aims to show the role this eccentric word played in the first development of democratic ideals, as well as to emphasize firstly the institutionalization process and secondly the progressive exclusion of the prophetical function in the course of the history of Christianity. The second part of this article focuses on the meaning of utopian thought in Modern times, which does not correspond only to the secularization of prophecy (from prophecy to utopia) but also to its radicalization and its transfusion into a new political discourse, also beyond the Jewish-Christian tradition. The third part of the contribution deals with the political-economical monopoly of the present that radically transforms and pulverizes the meaning of both prophecy and utopia. With regard to this, however, the present condition does not seem to correspond exclusively to the mere exhaustion of them but also to their transformation into something new. The political-theological project of Pope Francis seeks to disclose a new prophetic horizon within the present crisis of representation, both of the Church and of politics. His pastoral vision aims to generate a new archipelago, both in Christian experience and in the global network, becoming a paradoxical symbol of democratic life in late-capitalist times.