Secularism as neutral ground cannot host a public sphere because it is itself theological
Evidence
It clarifies that secularism cannot be addressed against religion, but can emerge only from the theological discourse. If the idea is to create a public sphere in which people who hold various beliefs (and nonbeliefs) can coexist, then secularism as such cannot provide the platform. In fact, it denies it. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 375
Categorization
- QUESTION: A bracing claim that bears on the reader’s interest in whether rational correction of sacralized beliefs is possible: if secularism is irreducibly theological, then the frame in which one would ‘correct’ the other side is not neutral ground at all.
- XREF: connects to: Secularism subsumes the religious under private reason by an act of categorization; All-pervasive religion makes isolating the secular nearly impossible — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 806; The secular was originally a theological, not an anti-religious, concept (+6 more)
Broader Connections
- The secular was originally a theological, not an anti-religious, concept
#corroborates(0.88) - Secularism subsumes the religious under private reason by an act of categorization
#expands(0.82) - Secularism is an enactment of transcendent identity, not an intellectual doctrine
#corroborates(0.80) - Secularism claims to be separate from yet productive of religion.
#contradicts(0.78) - Secular Zionism reinterpreted theology rather than departing from it
#exemplifies(0.75) - The secular concept precedes secularism as a political doctrine
#expands(0.74) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 74 - All-pervasive religion makes isolating the secular nearly impossible
#complicates(0.72) — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 806 - Strong secular institutions substitute for and undermine belief in God
#qualifies(0.72)