Radical Secularization?: An Inquiry into the Religious Roots of Secular Culture

What does it mean for a society to be secular? Answering this question from a philosophical angle, Radical Secularization? delves into the philosophical presuppositions of secularization. Which cultural evolutions made secularization possible? International scholars from different disciplines assess the answers given by many leading philosophers such as, among others, Löwith, Blumenberg and Habermas (Germany), Gauchet and Nancy (France), Taylor and Bellah (North America). They examine the theory that secularization cannot only be regarded as a cultural change that was forced upon religion from an external source (e.g. science), but should also be considered as a phenomenon triggered by motives internal to religion. If religions are indeed capable of inner transformations, the question arises whether religions can persist in the secular societies they inadvertently helped to bring about, and how secular societies may accommodate religion.

Stijn Latré is Lecturer at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, where he is working on a research project in the theory of secularization funded by the Flemish Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO).

W. Van Herck is Assistant Professor at the Department of Philosophy and the Centre Pieter Gillis of the University of Antwerp, Belgium. He is the co-editor of Humour and Religion (2011) and The Sacred in the City (2012). He is editor in chief of Bijdragen, International Journal in Theology and Philosophy.

Guido Vanheeswijck is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Antwerp and is part-time professor at the Institute of Philosophy at KU Leuven, Belgium. His research and publications concern the domains of metaphysics, philosophy of religion, theories of secularization and philosophy of culture. He is member of the editorial board of Bijdragen and Collingwood and British Idealism Studies.