Beyond church and state: democracy, secularism, and conversion

Secularism is often imagined in Thomas Jefferson's words as 'a wall of separation between Church and State'. This book moves past that standard picture to argue that secularism is a process that reshapes both religion and politics. Borrowing a term from religious traditions, the book...

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Bibliographic Details
Subtitles:Beyond Church & State
Main Author: Scherer, Matthew 1977- (Author)
Format: Electronic Book
Language:English
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Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2013
In:Year: 2013
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Secularism
Further subjects:B Religion And Politics
B Secularism
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Parallel Edition:Print version: 9781107026094
Description
Summary:Secularism is often imagined in Thomas Jefferson's words as 'a wall of separation between Church and State'. This book moves past that standard picture to argue that secularism is a process that reshapes both religion and politics. Borrowing a term from religious traditions, the book goes further to argue that this process should be understood as a process of conversion. Matthew Scherer studies Saint Augustine, John Locke, John Rawls, Henri Bergson and Stanley Cavell to present a more accurate picture of what secularism is, what it does, and how it can be reimagined to be more conducive to genuine democracy
Introduction: beyond the separation of church and state: secularism as conversion -- 1. The authorized narrative and crystalline structure of conversion in Augustine's Confessions -- 2. Toleration and conversion in Locke's letters: it is 'above all things necessary to distinguish' -- 3. The crystalline structure of conversion: Henri Bergson's Two Sources -- 4. Saint John (Rawls): the miracle of secular reason -- 5. The wish for a better life: Stanley Cavell's critique of the social contract -- Conclusion: from Supernovas into The Deep: secularism as conversion, a conversion of secularism
Item Description:Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015)
ISBN:1139199269
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781139199261