1st Edition

The Future of Political Theology Religious and Theological Perspectives

Edited By Péter Losonczi, Mika Luoma-aho, Aakash Singh Copyright 2012
    232 Pages
    by Routledge

    226 Pages
    by Routledge

    Recent shifts in the contemporary cultural, political, and religious landscape are engendering intensive attention concerning political theology. New trends and traditional ideas equally colour these movements. Given that a medley of recent books and articles have exhaustively treated both the history and the current resurgence of political theology, we now find ourselves faced with the task of reinventing and redefining the future of political theology. This book presents a rich overview of fresh, contemporary theoretical approaches uniquely prioritizing the prospects of the future of political theology, but also making room for significant interventions from philosophy and political theory. Including prominent essays on Judaic, Islamic, Buddhist and Christian perspectives, this book balances elements from post-modern theology with more classical as well as anti-post-modern approaches.

    Foreword by Graham Ward
    Introduction Péter Losonczi, Mika Luoma-aho and Aakash Singh

    Part I The Past of Political Theology: Concepts and Challenges
    1. The secular sphere in Western theology: a historical reconsideration Matthias Riedl
    2. Political theology and its discontents Michael Hoelzl
    3. 'How should we live?': nature, metaphysics, and political wisdom Andras Lanczi

    Part II Political Theology and the New Theological Trends
    4. The interruption of political theology Lieven Boeve
    5. Is orthodoxy radical? Catherine Pickstock
    6. From first theology to political theology Péter Losonczi
    7. Neither cosmopolis nor ghetto: religion and the intimate universal William Desmond

    Part III Contexts of Political Theology and Future Prospects
    8. Political theories in Europe: a crossroads Kornel Zathureczky
    9. The spiral of violence and the non-violent power of Christ: a theological reading of the political philosophy of Istvan Bibo Andras Csepregi
    10. Family code and marriage laws in Iran Roja Fazaeli
    11. The political theology of Navayana Buddhism Aakash Singh
    12. Millenarian development goals: commentary on the political theology of the Millennium Declaration Mika Luoma-aho

    Bibliography
    Index

    Biography

    Péter Losonczi's fields of research were early modern and contemporary philosophy of religion, inter-religious dialogue, and postsecularism. His publications cover these areas and he was involved in several related research projects. He was editor of the book series Schnittpunkte/Intersections and Dialogos (L'Harmattan, Budapest), and a member of the editorial board of the journal Katekhón. His publications include Reflecting Diversity: Historical and Thematical perspectives in the Jewish and Christian Tradition (co-edited, 2007) and his forthcoming edited and authored books include: Religion, Philosophy, Theology: On the Idea of Interreligious Dialogue (authored, 2009); Religio Academici: Religion, Scepticism, and the Pursuit of Knowledge (co-edited, 2009); Philosophy Begins in Wonder: An Introduction to Early Modern Philosophy, Theology, and Science (co-edited, 2009).

    Mika Luoma-aho is in the editorial board in both of the two Finnish political science journals, Politiikka and Kosmopolis. His research interests include critical international relations theory, political conservatism, and Christian political symbolism. He has published several articles internationally on Carl Schmitt's political theory and theology, most recently in International Political Sociology (2009). He is also the responsible leader of a research project on the political theology and civil religion of Laestadianism, a Christian revival movement, also funded by the Academy (2010-2).

    Aakash Singh's scholarly interests range from comparative political philosophy to liberation theology. He is author/editor of several books, including: Eros Turannos (authored, 2005); a French edition/translation of Maulana Azad's India Wins Freedom (2006); Buddhism and the Contemporary World: An Ambedkarian Perspective (co-edited, 2007); Reading Hegel: The Introductions (co-edited, 2008). Forthcoming books include: Macaulay's Post-Modern Children: Post-Colonial Theory as Neo-Orientalism (authored); Indian Political Thought (co-edited); Hegel's India (co-edited); and, B. R. Ambedkar's The Buddha and His Dhamma: A Critical Edition (co-edited).

    ’This new book moves beyond Christianity [...] to include contributions from Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism. The latter is of particular importance, given the current global rebalancing through the rise of China and India, and their religions.’

    Church Times

    'The highlight of the book is certainly its ambitious goal of the future of political theology. It is successful in presenting an alternative way of doing theology - by broad definition and in an ethos of pluralism... [It] masterfully functions as a pool of thought from which one can draw ideas, posit them side-by-side and gain a fresh understanding of political theology and its function in the political reality.'

    The Expository Times

    '... this volume’s attempt to locate a visible presence for political theology in the public realm is provocative, important, and will no doubt garner the careful attention it deserves.'

    Religious Studies Review

    'This is a good range of essays which goes into certain themes in considerable detail whilst calling into question the existence of political theology itself as having a future at all.’

    Heythrop