Postsecular History: Political Theology and the Politics of Time

Postsecular History explores how contemporary approaches to time and history follow political and theological patterns, revisiting and revising the concept of periodization by tracing powerful efforts to divide time and critiquing historical partitions between the Reformation and Enlightenment. It questions how relations of possession, novelty, freedom, and instrumentality are reproduced in postsecular discourses and political theology.

Format: Hardback
Length: 222 pages
Publication date: 14 November 2021
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland AG

This captivating book delves into the intricate interplay between politics and theology in contemporary approaches to the meaning of time and history. Despite the critiques of Christianity, religion, and secularity, providential narratives continue to shape influential ways of dividing time and history, mediating between experience and expectation in movements from promise to fulfillment. In response to the persistent theological influences within ostensibly secular frameworks, Postsecular History offers a revised concept of periodization by tracing the powerful efforts to divide time into the past, present, and future. It also critically examines historical partitions between the Reformation and Enlightenment. Through six chapters, Postsecular History explores how relations of possession, novelty, freedom, and instrumentality implied in the prefix 'post' are reproduced in postsecular discourses and the field of political theology. This thought-provoking exploration challenges readers to reconsider the political implications of our understanding of time and history and encourages a deeper exploration of the complex relationships between religion, politics, and society.

Weight: 469g
Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783030857578
Edition number: 1st ed. 2022